Critical earthquakes in Morocco, which the U.S. Geological Survey calls “unusual however not surprising,” have inflicted deaths and important financial harm earlier than.
The worst in Morocco’s latest historical past was a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that killed about 12,000 folks and injured one other 12,000 in March 1960.
The western coastal city of Agadir crumbled underneath that quake’s drive. A couple of third of its inhabitants perished. Eating places, retailers and the central market have been leveled. Hundreds of individuals have been buried underneath concrete.
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck northern Morocco in February 2004, killing about 630 folks, injuring lots of and leaving about 15,000 homeless.
That quake, within the Mediterranean port metropolis of Al Hoceima, toppled mud-brick properties and buried sleeping residents underneath rubble. In a close-by village, properties have been flattened like cardboard containers. The subsequent day, dozens of survivors left homeless by the earthquake protested what they mentioned was a scarcity of presidency support. A number of folks have been injured in a conflict between protesters and the Moroccan navy that day, CNN reported on the time.
The earthquake on Friday passed off within the African Plate, about 340 miles south of the African-Eurasian plate boundary, which is seismically energetic.
Different large earthquakes in Morocco have claimed fewer lives. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in March 1969 killed a few dozen folks. And a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco and Spain in January 2016, killing one particular person.