Earthquake of Agadir of 1960

The earthquake of Agadir took place in the south of the Morocco on February 29th, 1960 with 23:40. The jolt lasted 15 seconds and was a magnitude of 5,7 on the scale of Richter.

In the districts of Founti, Yachech and Kasbah, all the buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, 95% of the population of these zones were buried. In the district of Talbordj, 90% of the buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged, the new city and the sea front were relatively saved, and destroyed to 60%.

The seism had made: 12000 with: 15000 died, is approximately a third of the population, and approximately: 25000 wounded.

It is the most destroying seism and most fatal of the history of the Morocco. It is also the seism magnitude " moderate " (less than 6) most destroying of the XXe century (in opposition to the seism of Mongolia of December 4th, 1957 which did only very few victims in spite of its magnitude of 8,1).

The gravity of the damage is allotted to the fact that the jolt occurred just below the city and with the low resistance old constructions. The city however seemed to have been historically with the shelter of the seisms, and it is only after historical research which one realized that the city, known at the time under the name of Santa Cruz de Aguer already had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1731, which, a posteriori, undoubtedly explained the date of 1732 engraved on the pediment of the door of the local Kasbah.

Consequences

All the inhabitants who had not been killed, is approximately: 30000, had taken refuge in the middle of the ruins. However, the proximity of a base and an aerodrome of the French Army, which had almost not undergone a damage, the fast arrival of the French squadron of the Mediterranean as well as Dutch squadron, allowed the fast installation of the helps to the survivors. Two days later, the city was evacuated to avoid the propagation of disease and, that if research continued during a certain time, including identifying the bodies, it remained a great uncertainty as for the human account of the disaster.

As of the following day, the king Mohammed V and his Council of Ministers create a commission of rebuilding whose reins are entrusted to the crown prince, Moulay Hassan. Quickly, in particular in order to reduce so much is little the seismic risks (Agadir was literally built on the fault), it was decided that the new city would be built beside the destroyed city (with 3 kilometers in the south). The first stone of this building site is posed by the king on June 30th, 1960, whereas work of clearing of the city had hardly started.

Sources

the site agadir1960.com
" Agadir - February 29th, 1960 - History and lessons of a catastrophe " , by Willy Wraps, on line on the site Agadir 1960
U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program
Emergency Disaster Database

See too

Internal bonds

Earthquake

Bonds Internet

Photographs of the earthquake
Photographs of the Saada hotel, before and after the earthquake
History of the seism through the Jewish community of Agadir, before and after the seism of 1960.

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