‘Shallow, heavy earthquake leads to major effect on the surface’ 11:13 in Abroad "I associate that with many victims, even when I see the few images of collapsed houses and rubble on the streets"says KNMI earthquake expert Läslo Evers.

The earthquake in Morocco last night was heavy and occurred at a depth of 18 kilometers. “That is shallow and that means a major effect on the Earth’s surface,” explains KNMI seismologist Läslo Evers. That means a lot of damage and possibly a large number of victims.

Last night’s earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8, the earthquake expert says. “This is really a heavy earthquake, you should certainly not underestimate it,” said Evers. “I associate that with many victims, even when I see the few images of collapsed houses and rubble on the street.”

More than 800 fatalities have been counted so far, but it is widely believed that the death toll will rise. There has not yet been any communication with large parts of the affected area.

Exception

Major earthquakes do not occur often in this region, but they do occur further north. Between Spain and Morocco, under the Mediterranean Sea, there is a border of two large tectonic plates.

The epicenter was last night between the cities of Marrakesh and Agadir, more than 500 kilometers from the plate boundary. “That area is seismically active, but not as active as the north.”

In 1960 there was a strong earthquake measuring 5.8 near Agadir, a little further south, Evers recalls. At least 12,000 people were killed and the port city of Agadir was largely destroyed.

Evers: “That was a reason to tackle buildings and infrastructure to ensure that they can better withstand these types of earthquakes.”