Human consequences
The kasbah and the old quarters collapse completely; survivors are evacuated.
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EarthquakeAgadir earthquake
12,000Deaths
35,000Displaced / homeless
$120MEstimated cost
- Between 12,000 and 15,000 deaths, about a third of the city’s population.
An earthquake of only magnitude 5.8, but very shallow and located right beneath the city, destroys Agadir in about fifteen seconds.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
The disaster shows that a moderate tremor is enough to flatten unreinforced masonry buildings.
Economic consequences
The port and the budding tourism industry come to a standstill.
Political consequences
King Mohammed V promises reconstruction: the new Agadir is built further south, under Morocco’s first earthquake building code.
Further reading
Similar disasters
- Valdivia earthquakeEarthquake · Chile1960
- Áncash earthquakeEarthquake · Peru1970
- Mexico City earthquakeEarthquake · Mexico1985
- Kobe earthquakeEarthquake · Japan1995
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