Final Assessment

Morocco, like most coastal countries has experienced its share of hazards. These particular ones that I’m going to mention are considered more serious and most dangerous. They are floods and earthquakes. In the past years this country has seen a major catastrophe which devastated it. When a disaster brings on such a loss, how are country officials and citizens able to comprehend what measures to take first? This type of destruction should not have to take place in order for a country to look at the proper warning systems. Natural hazards can occur at any given time so all precautionary measures should already be in place especially if one is located in a vulnerable area.

Being that Morocco is in a location that places it in a vulnerable state, protection plans should be one of their number one priorities. Morocco has miles of beautiful coastlines which in turn attract not only tourists but the local population as well and therefore major cities become a place where most tend to gravitate to and could pose a significant risk. Most people love the idea of having a home on or near the coast with little consideration of what could happen as far as floods. Not saying that they don’t think about the fact that it could happen, but the beauty and the nature overtakes cautionary measures. Morocco's coastal zone is nearly 3500 km long which most definitely puts in a position for flooding or tsunami catastrophes. Flooding is a major risk that brings with it pollution and coastal erosion. Shoreline erosion would affect nearly half of the total beach areas respectively in the years to come. What is needed to minimize this sort of destruction would be to develop a forecasting and flood warning system which would alert citizens when flooding is about to occur. Also, seawalls would help to minimize flooding. This system and wall would need to be placed in locations along the coastal area. Having these systems and making sure that the citizens are aware of them could most definitely save more lives and lessen property damage.

Now as I discuss another main hazard, earthquakes, we venture into another outlook of devastation. Morocco is on the African plate with the closest plate boundary being the convergent boundary that runs through the Straits of Gibraltar. One major catastrophe that took place in Morocco was the earthquake in Agadir. For instance the Agadir earthquake that occurred in 1960 which registered at a 5.7 magnitude caused major damage. This event killed many people and damaged many buildings. This was a major catastrophe in history which led to the death of thousands of people. The recovery from such devastation is a long process which many people would need to get their lives back in order. Trying to rebuild all the structures and infrastructures is one thing, but trying to mentally and emotionally get your strength back is another. It will probably be many years before a catastrophe of this nature happens again. Being that this was a major event and how it changed the dynamics of this country, the recommendation that I would focus on would be National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction. These are multi-stakeholder organizations aimed at improving national coordination in disaster risk management and reduction. Morocco hasn’t seen much seismic activity over the past decade. Seismic activity is mostly in the North and Southeast part of Africa. History shows that one of the worst earthquakes that ever happened was in this country. This devastation made a big impact on how the country would rebuild itself. The measures that took place to prevent this kind of devastation from happening again with such degradation were how they now build and construct buildings. Most of the buildings are not multistory they are now built as square-type buildings for more safety.

If I were to construct a house for me to live in the country of Morocco, it would be in city called Fez. Although I would love to live on the coast in such cities as Casablanca or Agadir as most people, I really think the city of Fez would suit me just fine. It is the second largest city in Morocco and it sits between the Rif and the Middle Atlas mountains. This town is very welcoming and with the beauty of the buildings and architecture it draws you in and makes you want to see more. The city is also known to make some of the finest leathers in the world. Most people would love to live by the coast even if they know there are potential hazards that could take place. I think the best location would be inland where the dangers are less likely to happen.

　

www.academia.edu

www.earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1960_02_29.php

www.preventionweb.net

www.bloomberg.com


　

Morocco Coastal Hazard

One of the coastal hazards that Morocco has and could face again is tsunamis. In past history Morocco was faced with a major devastating earthquake that took many lives (Agadir 1960). The location of the country increases its vulnerability due to the increased probability of tsunami resulting from potential earthquake. The prevention method I think that should be put in place is a defensive tsunami wall. Also a vulnerability map will be useful to help plan and prevent the onset of a tsunami.This will help reduce the impact to the land.  Morocco has already developed a forecasting and flood warning system. Morocco plans to create a National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

http://www.unisdr.org/archive/25414

 

Extreme Weather

Morocco is known as a subtropical country but certain parts of the country have extreme seasonal weather. The coastal cities usually experience moderate temperatures. However, the inland cities experience very hot weather in the summer due to the geography. Humidity plays a big part in the weather during the summers. The humidity can make the summers much hotter. The humidity in the winter months makes the weather feel much cooler in the coastal regions. Winter is the season for rain but there is very little rainfall during the year in Morocco.

 

 

 
http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-morocco-climate-weather

https://www.google.com/search?q=morocco+extreme+weather&biw=1093&bih=516&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CDgQsARqFQoTCNOv0pv55sgCFQuXiAod2ucIRQ&dpr=1.25#imgrc=I9I7cw-71BnCAM%3A

Mass Wasting

Morocco has a region which is known for having many landslides. The Zoumi sector of the Moroccan Rif was used in a study because of the frequency and distribution of the landslides that take place. The idea behind the study was to create a susceptibility map. This map will assist in providing needed information to better plan, protect the people and property when it comes to the rebuilding of structures and roads after the occurrence of such mass movements.

 

The location of the Rif area made it a little difficult to map. Here is the article which discuss the Mapping of Mass Movements Susceptibility right click here

 

 http://www.ijser.org/paper/Mapping-of-Mass-Movements-Susceptibility-in-the-Zoumi-Region.html

 

 

 

Week 5 Volcanoes

Morocco really doesn’t have many earthquakes so the volcano activity is dormant at the moment. With the low activity of earthquakes this country has the volcano activity is none existence in that region at this time. This country hasn’t seen much of any activity since the big earthquake in Agadir many years ago so therefore volcanic activity is at rest. There is an article that mentions mud volcanoes off the coast of Morocco. These mud volcanoes have been suspected but not active. The first one discovered was offshore of Moroccan margin in the Gulf of Caldiz. The Gulf of Caldiz is located along the African-Eurasian plate boundary. As for any active volcano activity in Morocco or the nearby countries such as Spain and Portugal, there isn’t any to report at this moment.  
 

http://www.academia.edu/1363388/New_discoveries_of_mud_volcanoes_on_the_Moroccan_Atlantic_continental_margin_Gulf_of_C%C3%A1diz_morpho-structural_characterization

 

 

 

Week 4 Tsunami

Morocco is working on putting a tsunami hazard in place. Studies show the historical data is reviewed and what is needed for better warnings. The discussion is to establish an effective early warning system and mitigation system to detect potential tsunamis.  This system would help alert the community and prevent a major devastation from taking place as it did many years ago.  This system would be a great resource for the country and potentially save many lives if put in place as a priority as an emergency system. There is also a discussion focused around the construction of the buildings vulnerability and impact maps. These hazards were actually a study that took place because of the devastation that happened in 1755. These hazards should become a priority for the country.

 http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/11/2181/2011/nhess-11-2181-2011.pdf

Week 3 Earthquakes

Morocco’s seismic activity over the past decade has been moderate. Most of the seismic activity is in the North and Southeast part of Africa. History shows that one of the worst earthquakes that ever happened was in this country. The major earthquake that took many lives and destroyed many buildings was the one that took place in Agadir in 1960. This event killed many people and damaged many buildings. The devastation made a big impact on how the country would build itself back up. The measures that took place to prevent this kind of devastation from happening again were how they now build and construct buildings. Most of the buildings that were built are not multistory they are square-type buildings for more safety.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1960_02_29.php

  

 

Week 2 Plate Tectonics

Morocco is located in the northwestern corner of Africa. Its geographical composition includes the Atlas Mountains, the Western Sahara and miles of coastline on the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans. Morocco is located on the African plate and its closest plate boundary is a convergent boundary that runs through the straits of Gibraltar.  (Pg. 24) One of the major hazards that could occur are earthquakes. (Pg. 27)

Reference: Class Textbook, Natural Hazards and Disasters (2006)

Hazards, Disasters and Catastrophe's

Some of the hazards include avalanches in the snowy mountains. Also in the south sandstorms occur. In the winter time the disasters that occur are floods from heavy rainfall. One of the major catastrophe’s in Morocco is earthquakes. For example the Agadir earthquake that occurred in 1960 which registered at a 5.7 magnitude. This was a major catastrophe which led to the death of thousands of people.

A hazard is a potential threat to human life and property. A disaster is an event that occurs over a limited time span within a defined area. A catastrophe which is a massive disaster that requires expenditure of money and years to recover.