# Al Haouz earthquake (8 September 2023)

URL: https://allhistories.com/morocco/timeline/2023-al-haouz-earthquake
Location: Al Haouz, High Atlas, Morocco
Themes: main-event

On the night of 8 September 2023 a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Al Haouz area of the High Atlas about 70 kilometres south-west of Marrakesh, the strongest in the region in over a century. The official toll rose to nearly 3,000 dead and thousands injured, according to Interior Ministry reports. Villages such as Tafeghaghte in Amizmiz were destroyed, and historic buildings in Marrakesh were damaged. Rescue teams from Spain, the United Kingdom, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were accepted by Morocco, though it declined offers from other states including France, which led to controversy over aid acceptance. The king ordered a reconstruction programme of 120 billion dirhams over five years, with direct payments to households. Reconstruction of remote villages has been slow in some areas, with complaints of delays. At the date of this event the principal authority over the largest part of present-day Morocco, by the convention of this dataset, lay with Mohammed VI, King of Morocco (1999–present). The government was headed by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch. The disaster exposed rural vulnerability and led to a large reconstruction program shaping the High Atlas for years to come. The aftermath also became a test of the state's reconstruction promises, of the role of volunteers and civil society in the High Atlas, and of the regional inequality between mountain villages and cities.

## Why it matters
It was the deadliest earthquake in Morocco since 1960.

Ruler at the Time: [Mohammed VI](https://allhistories.com/morocco/rulers/mohammed-vi)

Prime Minister of Morocco: Aziz Akhannouch

## Sources
- [2023 Marrakesh–Safi earthquake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Marrakesh%E2%80%93Safi_earthquake)
- [eq-2023-000166-mar](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/eq-2023-000166-mar)
- [www.moroccoworldnews.com](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/09/29451/timeline-the-deadly-september-8-earthquake-in-morocco/)