Moroccan earthquake death toll over a thousand, and rising
There’s been a major earthquake in Morocco causing high casualties:
The number of people who have died in the Morocco earthquake has risen to 1,305 people with 1,832 injured, state TV in the country has said.
Many of the fatalities after the 6.8 magnitude quake are in hard-to-reach areas south of Marrakech.
The epicentre was high in the Atlas Mountains – about 43 miles (70km) away from Marrakech, a popular tourist destination.
Reaching people in remote villages, where old, traditional buildings may be more likely to collapse, will be a key focus of the rescue effort.
The major problem seems to have been non-earthquake-proof structures. Large earthquakes are rare in Morocco, but it is an earthquake zone:
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) the 6.8 magnitude earthquake was just 11 miles below the surface.
The epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains near Oukaimeden, around 50 miles south of Marrakech.
It’s a sparsely populated area with Amazigh, or Berber, villages.
Houses are traditionally built with mud bricks and may not have withstood the shaking. There’s also a risk of landslides on steep slopes.
The location is within the African tectonic plate, around 350 miles south of the boundary with the Eurasia plate that Europe and much of Asia sit on.
RIP to the dead.
There was an estimated 7.7 earthquake in 1755 which destroyed Lisbon, Portugal, centered in the ocean off Morocco, so quakes in the region are not unheard of. Mud brick and stone construction can’t take shaking. RIP.
RIP the dead and prayers up for the bereaved, the injured, those who have lost homes and livelihood. It’s sad and sobering. Even if we can’t send tangible aid, we can feel some empathy for the stricken.
Thinking here of Donne’s immortal poem.
Owen:
John Donne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Be_Not_Proud