By William Pergola

Morocco has had many earthquakes - in total 13 - but this most recent earthquake has been one of the worst and most devastating earthquakes in Morocco compared to all the earthquakes in last decade. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8; the last couple of earthquakes had the following magnitudes: 5.2 magnitude, 6.3 magnitude, 6.0 magnitude, and 6.3 magnitude. Many people have died and lives were drastically altered from this event. Over 5,700 people were injured, over 3,000 killed, and over 50,000 homes destroyed by this earthquake. The incident took place on September 8th this year. It started at 11:11 pm and lasted 7 seconds. The earthquake happened under the Atlas Mountain range 72 km from Marrakech (the town that was mainly affected). The mountain was originally formed from the Eurasian and African plates sliding across each other which is constant. Over time the two plates catch tension and it builds up. When it releases, it causes a earthquake. This is what happened to the mountain and what caused this earthquake to happen. This process is rare it's called a reverse fault. Reverse faults which occur when tectonic plates collide causing the earth's crust to rise up. Overall the earthquake was devastating and many people lost their lives. Let's just hope another earthquake doesn't happen soon.