Citation

Achbani A, Bouchriti Y, Sine H, Kharbach A, Boukrim M, Rida J, Ait Ougjij A, Sine H. Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2024; 18: e88.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/dmp.2024.80

PMID

38712626

Abstract

The powerful earthquake in Morocco came as a significant surprise, leaving geologists astonished, as it struck on the night of Friday, September 9, in the Al Haouz region, located southwest of the city of Marrakech. It was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale that struck on September 8, 2023, at 11:11 pm local time (10:11 pm UTC) in the Al Haouz region in the Marrakech-Safi region of Morocco. The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the commune of Ighil, approximately 71.8 km southwest of Marrakech, at a depth of 18.5 km. According to the latest report published by the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior (September 12 at 1:00 pm), the earthquake caused the collapse, in whole or in part, of around 50 000 residential buildings. The earthquake has tragically claimed the lives of 2901 individuals and left 5530 others injured (including 1404 in a state of critical health). 1 The earthquake was the biggest and deadliest in contemporary Moroccan history since at least 1960, and it was the world's second deadliest in 2023, after the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Numerous countries have extended their assistance and are actively contributing to relief efforts. Morocco is adhering to a "responsible, thorough, and efficient" approach in coordinating and managing offers of support from various nations, evaluating them based on the specific needs on the ground. Qatar, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom have demonstrated, alongside Moroccan relief teams, remarkable commitment in their efforts to assist the Kingdom of Morocco....

Language: en

Keywords

*Earthquakes/statistics & numerical data; alhaouz earthquake; Humans; Key takeaways; morocco; Morocco