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Earthquake - Morocco
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Catastrophe Report 5
February 21 - July 21, 2004 |
Earthquake - Morocco
| Territory: |
|
Morocco |
| Region: |
|
Al Hoceima province (NE Morocco),
300 km ENE of the capital Rabat |
| Date: |
|
24 February 2004 |
| Event: |
|
Earthquake |
| Impact: |
|
The earthquake occurred in the Gibralter Strait,
close to Al Hoceima, a coastal city with around 100,000 inhabitants.
Most seriously affected were the surrounding villages including
Ait, Kamara, Tamassint and Imzouren, where the main building
material is adobe (mud brick). The final death toll is estimated
at 629 with close to a thousand more injured. Over 15,000 people
were made homeless. According to local news reports around 40
residential buildings were destroyed, with many others sustaining
minor to severe structural damage. Lifelines were relatively
unscathed, with power out for a time but with roads and the
water system largely unaffected. No information on economic
losses is currently available.
. |
| Summary: |
|
A strong earthquake, registering a magnitude
of 6.4, struck northern Morocco during the early hours of February
24th. The shallow (13 km) quake occurred close to the eastern
end of the Rif mountain belt, which marks the diffuse boundary
in this area between the African tectonic plate to the south
and the Eurasian plate to the north. The earthquake occurred
in the Al Hoceima region of the country, close to the site of
a magnitude 6.0 event that occurred in 1996. Ground shaking
associated with the earthquake was felt as far east as the Spanish
enclave of Melilla 250 km away, and along the southern coast
of Spain 150 km distant. Aftershocks as large as magnitude 5.5
continued for up to a month after the main event. Peak horizontal
accelerations of 0.25 g were recorded 21 km from the epicentre
at the El Khattabi Dam, which sustained minor damage. |
| Data sources: |
|
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usfgag.htm
ReliefWeb
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vLND
|
| Additional sources:
|
|
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
http://www.eeri.org/
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