Experts say the magnitude-6.8 earthquake that has devastated Marrakech and surrounding towns happened in area known for such activity.
abc.net.au/news/morocco-earthquake-explainer-500-kilometres-from-faultlines/102839224Lonely Planet describes the small ski village of Oukaimeden up in Morocco's High Atlas mountains as "a peaceful escape from the hustle of Marrakech", 75 kilometres to the north.
"Earthquakes in the magnitude-6 range are more common in the northern part of Morocco near the Mediterranean Sea, where a magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck in February 2004, and a magnitude-6.3 in January 2016," the USGS summary of the event said. "Just because there hasn't been an earthquake of the same magnitude in the instrumental period, does not mean that there won't be plenty of geological evidence for earthquakes that have broken the crust in that area in the past," Dr Quigley said.
Dr Quigley said the mountains where Oukaimeden is located were formed by shifting plates in the region.He said this quake was in response to tectonic plate motions as the African and Eurasian plates bump against each other. "This is kind of analogous in some ways to the earthquake sequence in Christchurch, in New Zealand, which is not right on the main plate boundary fault, but is hundreds of kilometres away," he said.
"High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread," the USGS said.The magnitude and shallowness of the earthquake, coupled with the number of people and the style of buildings in the area, have combined to make it particularly devastating.
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