Deadly 6.3 Magnitude Quake Devastated Morocco’s Al Hoceima Region in 2004

The earthquake occurred on February 24, 2004, at 2:27 a.m. The epicenter of the shock was located near the villages of Aït-Kamra and Imzouren, about ten kilometers south and southwest of Al Hoceima. The affected area extended 40 km wide from the urbanized coastline to about 60 km southeast, in the Rif mountains of Morocco. The earthquake had left 30,000 displaced people. They had been housed in makeshift camps.

Wednesday, February 25. A team of three expert architects (French and Moroccan) went to the site. This assessment mission had carried out a survey of the most affected areas and organized an action to secure the people, but also the buildings. Two other teams of Architects of Emergency joined the first one on February 27. Algerian architects, including representatives of the National Order of Architects of Algeria, joined the teams already on site on February 29. On March 3, about sixty Moroccan architects went to the field to help secure the buildings and allow families to quickly return to their homes.

In three weeks, Morocco mobilized about 130 architects who had set up an action, with the help of the National Council of the Order of Architects of Morocco and the various government institutions. While in the cities of Imzouren, Beni Bou Iyach and Ajdir the damage was very localized and moderately important, in Al Hoceima, the damage was lighter. On the Ait-kamra, Had Rouadi to Bouhm axis, the rural areas consisting mainly of isolated and hard-to-reach dwellings were less affected.

The reconstruction assistance program proposed to the senior officials was a success.