The 2004 Al Hoceima earthquake occurred on 24 February at 02:27:47 local time near the coast of northern

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. The strike-slip earthquake measured 6.3 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

and had a maximum perceived intensity of IX (''Violent'') on the

Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...

. Between 628 and 631 people were killed, 926 injured, and up to 15,000 people were rendered homeless in the Al Hoceima- Imzourene- Beni Abdallah area.

Earthquake

The moment tensor and pattern of surface cracks indicate left-lateral strike-slip faulting on a buried NE-SW trending fault. This earthquake occurred near the epicenter of the magnitude 6.0 Al Hoceima earthquake of May 26, 1994, that had injured one person and caused significant damage to buildings.

Damage

Ground cracks and

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

s were observed between Ajdir and Beni Abdallah and maximum

peak ground acceleration Peak ground acceleration (PGA) is equal to the maximum ground acceleration that occurred during earthquake shaking at a location. PGA is equal to the amplitude of the largest absolute acceleration recorded on an wikt:accelerogram, accelerogram at a ...

of 0.24g was recorded near Imzourene. Many fatalities occurred in Al Hoceima, a coastal city along the Mediterranean Sea. Mohammed Boudra, the mayor of Al Hoceima, said most of the casualties were women and children. Further inland, many more residents of scattered villages within the Rif Mountains died. The mud houses of Tazaghin, Tizi Ayash and Imzourn, villages on the mountain, were damaged. The village of Ait Kamara was also "completely destroyed".

Aftershocks

Several aftershocks killed at least three people and destroyed previously weakened buildings. This earthquake occurred near the eastern end of the Rif mountain belt, which is part of the diffuse boundary between the African and Eurasian plates.

References

External links

* tp://hazards.cr.usgs.gov/maps/sigeqs/20040224/20040224.pdf M6.4 Al Hoceima, Morocco Earthquake of 24 February 2004–

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

Buried Strike Slip Faults: The 1994 and 2004 Al Hoceima, Morocco Earthquakes

Moroccan Seismic Network: Overview
– IRIS Consortium
The seismic design code for buildings: A priority for seismic risk reduction in Morocco

Preliminary Observations on the Al Hoceima, Morocco, Earthquake of February 24, 2004
– EERI
Al-Hoceima earthquake 24 02 2004
– Patrick Murphy Corella
Earthquake Mw 6.5 in Morocco, February 24th, 2004
– EMSC * * {{Earthquakes in Africa 2004 disasters in Morocco Al Hoceima

Earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

Earthquakes in Morocco February 2004 in Africa Al Hoceïma Province Taounate Province Taza Province

Earthquake

Damage

Aftershocks

See also

References

Further reading

External links