Risk register · entry
Q2 · The CoconutAl Haouz earthquake
A moderate quake killed thousands because mudbrick homes had no survival voids.
The rare, high-impact event that was always coming, and was always going to be called unforeseeable afterwards.
Why this quadrant
A magnitude 6.8 is survivable in a reinforced building. Morocco's seismic code exempts traditional earthen construction, which is what the High Atlas villages are built from, and unreinforced mudbrick leaves no voids to survive in when it comes down. The quake was ordinary. The housing stock decided the toll.
The record
- September 8, 2023, 23:11 local time, quake occurrencecertain
- Moment magnitude 6.8-6.9 (USGS/Wikipedia), some Moroccan agency readings up to ~7.2certain
- Depth approximately 18-19 km, epicenter ~73.4 km southwest of Marrakesh near Ighilcertain
- 2,960 confirmed deathscertain
- 5,674 injuredlikely
- 2.8 million people affectedlikely
- 40,759 homes damaged, 19,095 fully collapsed (one tally); other assessments cite 59,674-69,674 buildings damageduncertain
- 2,930 villages impacted; 585 schools damagedlikely
- Approximately 300,000 people left homelesslikely
- $7 billion total estimated economic damageuncertain
- $11.7 billion, five-year government rehousing plan announced September 20, 2023certain
- Morocco's RPS 2000 seismic code exempts buildings using traditional earthen/local materials (mud, straw, wood, reeds) from its requirementslikely
- 1960 Agadir earthquake killed 12,000-15,000 people and prompted Morocco's first seismic building codecertain
Sources
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