Earthquake in Morocco

An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude shook Morocco on September 8, 2023, at 11 p.m. local time, followed by a magnitude 4.9 aftershock 19 minutes later. According to USGS, the quake originated deep below the surface, at a depth of 18.5 km with its epicenter identified in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km south-west of the city of Marrakesh. The earthquake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria.

TOPSHOT – The minaret of a mosque stands behind damaged or destroyed houses following an earthquake in Moulay Brahim, Al-Haouz province, on September 9, 2023. Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in decades has killed at least 1000 people, officials said on September 9, causing widespread damage and sending terrified residents and tourists scrambling to safety in the middle of the night. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

At least 2,901 people were killed, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the epicenter, and another 5,530 were injured, according to Morocco’s Interior Ministry .According to the GDACS report, approximately 320,000 people were exposed to the earthquake with the remote villages nestled in the High Atlas Mountains, right at the earthquake’s epicenter, suffering substantial losses. According to Reuters the destruction in some areas is described as “absolute,” with not a single house left standing.

A view shows a house, damaged in an earthquake, that belongs to Saida Bodchich and her husband Abdellatif Ait Bella, who was injured in the earthquake, in the village of Tansghart in the Asni area, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki

The continued risk of landslides and the large distances involved complicated the rescue and relief efforts. with emergency services facing difficulties in reaching people in need. While earthquakes of this size in the region are uncommon (since 1900 there have been only nine magnitude 5 events), this earthquake was the deadliest in Morocco since 2004.

SOSF’s AI model gathered useful data which will be used to predict which regions in the world are most vulnerable and likely to experience such a disaster in the future, so that we can warn the population there and subsequently to help them.