A mild earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred early Monday at 5:20 AM in Al Haouz province near Marrakech and its environs, almost two months after the initial 7 magnitude earthquake that struck the heart of Morocco on September 8.
Reports of the aftershock poured in from various cities across the Kingdom, according to the National Institute of Geophysics (ING).
One of a number of mild aftershocks that have been felt by residents in Taroudant (South of Marrakech), Agadir, Taroudant, Ouarzazate, and even Casablanca, the epicenter of today’s was the Talat N’Yaacoub commune in Al Haouz province.
Seeking to allay public concerns, Nasser Jabbour, Head of the Division at the ING, explained that the epicenter of this aftershock was pinpointed at the crossroads of local fault lines that are readjusting and settling after September’s much stronger earthquake.
Jabbour reassured the public that these are normal aftershocks that likely will not reach the intensity of the initial earthquake.
“It’s entirely normal to experience these aftershocks, and we record them daily, though most go unnoticed by the public,” he said. “Only those with a magnitude exceeding 4 are perceptible.”
This is a “natural process” that will continue over the next several months before things “return to normal,” he concluded.