Reacción a "Reactions: Earthquake hits Morocco, leaves hundreds dead"

Morocco lies in the north of the African plate that has been converging obliquely with the European plate for millions of years. Movement associated with the plate boundary can cause damaging earthquakes. There have been other magnitude 6 earthquakes in Morocco in the past few hundred years, and Morocco has also experienced shaking from earthquakes with epicentres outside the country including in Portugal.

When an earthquake occurs at night, people can be particularly vulnerable as getting out of their homes and navigating rubbles and debris in the dark adds to risk of injury and getting trapped.

The early death toll figures are likely to increase significantly as early information is limited and rescue efforts are ongoing.

Residents should be cautious returning into damaged buildings as some damage may not be visible and aftershocks of magnitude 5-6 should be expected. Large earthquakes can trigger other earthquakes along the same or neighbouring faults as stress transfer can bring other faults closer to failure. In an area already experiencing damage and reduced capacity for emergency services, vulnerability to aftershocks and triggered events can be higher than before the first event.