After the earthquake that struck Morocco, leaving 1,305 dead and 1,832 injured, according to the latest announcement by the Moroccan Interior Ministry, another earthquake measuring approximately 6 degrees struck the Minahasa Peninsula in the Sulawesi region, eastern Indonesia.
According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude of the Moroccan earthquake reached 7.2 on the Richter scale, while the German Research Center for Geosciences said that a 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook the Indonesian Minahasa Peninsula, without any casualties being reported.
Morocco and Indonesia are among the countries most exposed to natural disasters and earthquakes.
According to the Global Risk Index report, Morocco ranks seventh in the ranking of countries most exposed to natural disasters, while Indonesia is one of the countries most vulnerable to earthquakes in the world, according to Western reports.
Which countries are most vulnerable to earthquakes?
Japan: Japan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is exposed to tectonic activity and earthquakes. It ranks first in seismic activity. The 2011 earthquake registered nine degrees and killed 15,000 people. Indonesia: It is exposed to earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 almost every year, making it one of the most affected countries in the world. In 2018, the country was rocked by 9 earthquakes that killed thousands.
China: It has a long history with devastating earthquakes that claimed the lives of thousands. In 2008, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan Province, leaving more than 87,000 people dead or missing, as it was the 18th most deadly earthquake in the country. The Philippines: Its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and its mountainous geography, make it one of the countries most vulnerable to earthquakes. About two thousand people were killed in the north of the country in 1990 in a 7.7-magnitude earthquake. Iran: It is one of the countries most vulnerable to earthquakes in the world and has a history with them, as the worst was in 1990, when more than 40 thousand people were killed. Türkiye: It is often exposed to seismic activity due to its location near major fault lines, and the last earthquake was last February, with the death toll reaching about 47,975 people, according to official statistics. Peru: It regularly suffers from small tremors in addition to medium and large earthquakes. These earthquakes can cause major damage to buildings and infrastructure, the last of which occurred on March 19 and reached a magnitude of 7.6. United State: One of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries due to its location along several major fault lines including the San Andreas Fault and the New Madrid Fault.
ItalyIts location on multiple fault lines, namely the Eurasian plate surrounded by the Aegean plate, the Adriatic plate, and the Anatolian plate, makes it on the list of countries most active in earthquakes, the last of which occurred in 1980 and killed more than 2,400 people. Mexico: Its location along the Pacific Ring exposes it to regular seismic activity, the last of which occurred in Greater Mexico City in 1985 and resulted in the deaths of at least 5,000 people.
Russia: The Kuril Islands are among the areas most exposed to earthquakes in the world, the most recent of which was a 4.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern coast of the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula on June 23, 2023.
The strongest earthquakes… losses and victims
The Arab country most vulnerable to earthquakes
As for the Arab countries, in the Global Risk Index report, which measures the level of disaster risks from natural events and the negative consequences of climate change in 193 countries, Morocco occupies 7th place in the ranking of countries most exposed to natural disasters, according to the Global Risk Index report, while Somalia occupies first place. Followed by Yemen, then Egypt, Libya, then Syria, then Djibouti, while Sudan comes in eighth place, followed by Tunisia.
The index said that Syria is the Arab country most vulnerable to earthquakes, and is exposed to a high degree of risk of earthquakes.
Regarding the reason for the high number of victims in the Moroccan earthquake, Dr. Gad Al-Qadi, head of the National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research in Egypt, says that the region that witnessed the earthquake in Morocco has seismic activity of small degrees, and it is expected that every period ranging from 30 to 50 years a large, huge earthquake will occur. .
He added to the “Sky News Arabia” website that the earthquake is the largest that Morocco has been exposed to in the last fifty years, and that the Marrakesh region is the most affected, as its old buildings, and the buildings, most of which are made of mud bricks, contributed to the collapse process, which exacerbated the material and human losses.
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2023-09-09 18:55:18
