London : The British newspaper, The Sunday Times, published an article by Bill McGuire, professor of geophysics and climate risks at University College London, about how earthquakes occur, and about the reason behind Morocco being damaged to such a catastrophic extent as a result of the earthquake that struck the country on Friday night .
The researcher pointed out that this earthquake had a strength of about 30 atomic bombs, like those that struck the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which explains the number of historical buildings that were destroyed in the city of Marrakesh itself, despite its distance from the epicenter of the earthquake by about 40 miles.
But he stressed that the earthquake that struck Morocco, measuring more than 7 degrees on the Richter scale, is not large when compared to earthquakes that strike parts of the world with high seismic activity, such as China, Japan, Indonesia, and Turkey.
The researcher explained that Morocco is located close to the border of the tectonic plate, which represents the link between the Eurasian plate to the north and the African plate to the south. These two plates began colliding millions of years ago, which resulted in the formation of mountain ranges such as the Alps and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
The African plate moves northward at a rate of about 2.5 cm per year, which creates pressure on the faults in the region, and with the accumulation of pressure, earthquakes occur from time to time.
Earthquakes don't kill people, construction methods do; If appropriate construction methods had been followed, the buildings would have remained standing despite the earthquakes
McGuire believed that an earthquake of the size of the one that struck Morocco would not have caused this scale of damage if it had occurred in the American state of California, for example, as part of the world was better prepared to confront earthquakes.
The researcher stressed the saying that “earthquakes do not kill people, but construction methods do.” If appropriate construction methods had been followed, the buildings would have remained standing despite the earthquakes.
The writer pointed out another reason why Morocco was affected by this catastrophic magnitude from this earthquake, which is that it struck from a depth of only 18 kilometers, which is a distance that is not considered large in this context, which ensured that a huge amount of seismic energy was transferred towards the surface, which magnified the impact of the destruction. .
According to him, what made matters worse was that the earthquake occurred late at night, when many people were in their homes.
Fortunately, however, the earthquake did not last more than 20 seconds.
Morocco : The “strongest earthquake” in the history of Morocco destroys entire villages
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco rose to 2,012 dead and 2,059 injured, including 1,404 in serious condition.
According to the Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research, the earthquake, which occurred on Friday night with a magnitude of 7, is considered the strongest earthquake ever measured in Morocco.
The province of Al Haouz was the epicenter of the earthquake and the most affected, with 1,293 deaths, followed by the province of Taroudant, where 452 deaths occurred. In these two areas, located southwest of the tourist city of Marrakesh, the earthquake destroyed entire villages.
Taghaght : More than two thousand and expectations of a higher toll Morocco mourns the victims of the earthquake and a race against time to find survivors
Morocco, on Sunday, held a funeral for its victims after the violent earthquake that destroyed a large part of the country and claimed the lives of more than two thousand people, according to an official toll that is expected to rise as search operations continue and rescue teams race against time to find survivors.
The earthquake, which occurred on Friday night - Saturday, with a magnitude of 7, according to the Moroccan Center for Scientific and Technical Research (6.8, according to the US Geological Survey), is considered the strongest earthquake ever measured in Morocco. The Ministry of Interior announced, on Saturday evening, that the earthquake resulted in 2,012 deaths and 2,059 injuries, including 1,404 in serious condition.
The province of Al Haouz was the epicenter of the earthquake and the most affected, with 1,293 deaths, followed by the province of Taroudant, where 452 deaths occurred. In these two areas, located southwest of the tourist city of Marrakesh, the earthquake destroyed entire villages.
Al Hassan, a resident of Moulay Ibrahim in the High Atlas who lost his wife and four children, says: “I have lost everything.” He added, as he prostrated in the corner: “I can’t do anything now. I just want to get away from the world.”
First burial ceremony
On the heights of this village, which has a population of about 3,000 people, Bushra dries her tears with her scarf as she watches the men digging graves to bury the dead.
“My cousin’s grandchildren died,” she says, before adding in a choking voice: “I saw the devastation left by the earthquake, and I’m still shaking.” “It is like a ball of fire that swallows everything in its path.”
“Everyone here has lost their families, whether in our village or elsewhere in the region,” she continues.
Meanwhile, the Royal Cabinet declared three days of national mourning, and world leaders expressed their shock and condolences.
Several countries, including Israel, France, Spain, Italy and the United States, have offered assistance. Even neighboring Algeria , which has tense relations with Morocco, has opened its airspace, closed for two years, to flights carrying humanitarian aid and the wounded.
“Years” of help
According to the International Red Cross, Morocco's aid needs are enormous.
Hossam El-Sharqawi, director of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Middle East and North Africa, warned: “It will not take a week or two We expect months, or even years, of response.”
Among the villages that were almost completely destroyed was the village of Tafghaght, located about 50 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake, and about 60 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh. Rare are the buildings that still stand on the soil of this mountain village.
Sheikh Omar Binna (72 years old) expressed his shock, saying: “Three of my grandchildren (12, 8 and 4 years old) and their mother died. They are still under the rubble... Only a short time ago we were playing together.”
On Saturday, many residents went to the cemetery to bury about 70 bodies.
In the evening, television channels broadcast aerial footage showing entire villages and their mud houses in the Al Haouz region completely destroyed.
The Ministry of Interior said, on Saturday evening, that “public authorities are still on alert to speed up rescue and evacuation operations for the injured.”
In Marrakesh, the streets of the Mellah, the historic Jewish quarter, were filled with debris. Dozens spent their second night outdoors, fearing that their damaged homes would collapse.
Fatima Sater (62 years old), a resident, told AFP: “Look where all these people are sleeping. There is no help for us. Our homes are cracked, and others are destroyed, like my daughter’s house. It is chaos.”
The earthquake was also felt by residents of Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira, as many terrified residents took to the streets at midnight, fearing that their homes would collapse.
This earthquake is considered the deadliest in Morocco since the earthquake that destroyed the city of Agadir, on the western coast of the country, on February 29, 1960. About 15,000 people, or a third of the city's population, were killed.
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