Morocco earthquake of 2023: At a Glance
The Morocco earthquake of 2023 was a magnitude-6.8 temblor that struck central Morocco on September 8, 2023, at 11:11 pm local time and ultimately killed more than 2,900 people. Its epicenter was about 45 miles (72 km) southwest of Marrakech in Morocco’s Al Haouz province, in the Atlas Mountains, some 342 miles (550 km) south of the boundary between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. This part of Morocco sits on a tight cluster of faults created by a complex mix of two forces: compressional (smashing rocks together) and shearing (pulling land apart).
Geologists have noted that the earthquake followed the buildup of compressional stress, which resulted when one side of a fault was driven under the other over time. Rock fracturing along this fault released much of the stress, which forced one side of a reverse fault (that is, a type of thrust fault that dips at an angle greater than 30°) upward with respect to the other side. Initial estimates suggest that the upward-moving block was lifted up to 1.7 meters (5.6 feet) along a section of fault 30 km (19 miles) long.
The earthquake struck hardest in remote mountain villages, whose houses and other structures were built with unreinforced masonry. Building standards in these areas were either lax or unenforced, and shaking caused by the earthquake reduced to rubble several settlements, including the towns of Amizmiz (where some 2,000 of the country’s 2,900 deaths occurred) and Tafeghaghte. The earthquake spared much of the modern parts of the city of Marrakech, but several walls and other structures in the city’s historic medina district were destroyed.
Poor-quality mountain roads prevented relief and recovery teams from reaching earthquake-damaged areas quickly. Moreover, the Moroccan government was criticized for its decision to accept help only from Spain, Qatar, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates, which frustrated other countries that had assembled recovery teams and aid resources to help. Nearly two months after the earthquake, some of the hardest-hit areas of the country had yet to receive adequate aid, which prompted earthquake survivors to protest against the inefficiencies of the government’s response to the disaster.