Phosphate Mining Linked to 3.3 Magnitude Earthquake in Central Morocco

29 September 2024 – bySylvanus@Bladi · 1 min read

An earthquake shook certain areas of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region, more precisely in Béni Oukil, between the towns of Fquih Ben Salah and Khouribga, on Saturday. Nasser Jabbour, director of the National Institute of Geophysics (INGP), in charge of seismic monitoring in Morocco, claims that this earthquake is caused by the extraction of phosphates.

An earthquake of magnitude 3.3 degrees was recorded on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The epicenter of the earthquake is located near the Béni Oukil region, about 20 kilometers from the towns of Oued Zem and Fquih Ben Salah, reveal specialized websites monitoring earthquakes. A number of residents of these regions have confirmed having felt the seismic shock.

A similar phenomenon occurred last December. A magnitude 3 shock had been recorded in the Oued Zem region.

According to Nasser Jabbour, director of the National Institute of Geophysics (INGP), the seismic shock on Saturday is not natural. This shock is due to an explosion that occurred in the region for the extraction of phosphates, using explosives, he explained to Alyaoum24.

Category: Morocco

Keywords:

Beni Mellal Khenifra Earthquake National Institute of Geophysics Earthquake