Morocco’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the country last Friday night was one of the most powerful quakes to hit Morocco in recent decades. The death toll is nearing 3,000 with more than 2,500 injured, most of them in critical condition. The earthquake caused significant damage in several cities, including the tourist city of Marrakech.
One of the most remembered earthquakes in the country’s history is the devastating one that struck Agadir in February 1960, leaving 12,000 people killed — a third of the city's population.
The 5.7-magnitude earthquake caused extensive damage in the region and triggered a tsunami, making it the most powerful seismic event. It was also the most destructive moderate-magnitude earthquake of the 20th century.
In November 1755, an earthquake, whose epicentre was in the Atlantic Ocean, hit Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Seismologists estimated its magnitude between 8.5 and 9 on the Richter scale.
While the disaster mainly affected Portugal, about 10,000 people died in Morocco, in the coastal cities of Tangier, Rabat, Agadir, Anfa and Safi. An aftershock that occurred 18 days later was particularly deadly in the non-coastal cities of Fez and Meknes.
