Mag 5.0 - 49km N of Boudinar, Morocco

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In summary, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurred 49km north of Boudinar, Morocco. The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km and was felt in nearby cities. There have been no reports of major damage or injuries at this time. The earthquake is likely a result of the ongoing seismic activity in the region.
  • #1
Astronuc
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M5.0 - 49km N of Boudinar, Morocco
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10004ubk#general_region

Wow - it's not often one sees an earthquake of that magnitude in that part of the Mediterranean!

2016-03-03 11:36:27 (UTC)

49km (30mi) N of Boudinar, Morocco
54km (34mi) NE of Tirhanimine, Morocco
57km (35mi) NNE of Imzourene, Morocco
64km (40mi) WNW of Melilla, Spain
174km (108mi) ESE of Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Lat 35.593 °N, Long 3.542 °W
depth = 10.0 km (6.2 mi)
 
  • #3
Astronuc said:
Wow - it's not often one sees an earthquake of that magnitude in that part of the Mediterranean!

it's been one of a bursts of events in that spot over the last few weeks
Starting with a M5.1 on the 22/2

Quakes western Mediterranean.JPG
 
  • #5
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  • #6
BTW, since I'm not seeing it in this forum, the strongest one was on Jan 25th 2016 at 04:22AM GMT, epicenter 35.6004 -3.8056, "scored" 6.3 Mw:

https://www.ign.es/ign/layoutIn/sismoDetalleTerremotos.do?locale=es&evid=1362673&zona=1

Further info:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terremoto_del_mar_de_Alborán_de_2016

It killed 1 person in Morocco and was felt in large areas of Andalucía (including Almería, Málaga, Granada and even Córdoba), as well as in the Spanish territory of Melilla, where it (slightly) wounded 26 people and caused minor damage. Definitely unusual.
 
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  • #7
xpell said:
BTW, since I'm not seeing it in this forum, the strongest one was on Jan 25th 2016 at 04:22AM GMT, epicenter 35.6004 -3.8056, "scored" 6.3 Mw:

https://www.ign.es/ign/layoutIn/sismoDetalleTerremotos.do?locale=es&evid=1362673&zona=1

Further info:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terremoto_del_mar_de_Alborán_de_2016

It killed 1 person in Morocco and was felt in large areas of Andalucía (including Almería, Málaga, Granada and even Córdoba), as well as in the Spanish territory of Melilla, where it (slightly) wounded 26 people and caused minor damage. Definitely unusual.
Thanks for indicating this. So activity has picked up in this area, this year.

M6.3 - 50km NNE of Al Hoceima, Morocco
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10004gy9#general_region
One person died from a heart attack at Al Hoceima and minor damage to some buildings at Nador, Morocco. Felt (VI) at Imzouren; (V) at Fes and Nador; (III) at Casablanca and Tetouan. Felt from El Jadida to Oujda and from Tangier to Fes. At least 26 people injured, several buildings damaged and telephone communications and electricity disrupted at Ciudad de Melilla, Spain. Felt (V) at Ciudad de Melilla; (IV) at Almeria, Nerja and Torremolinos; (III) at Benahavis, Fuengirola, Malaga and Marbella. Felt from Huelva to Almeria and from Jaen to La Linea. Felt (III) in Gibraltar.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/tectonic/images/mediterranean_tsum.pdf

I wonder if we should expect a larger earthquake in the vicinity in the near term. Are the coastal areas and nations of Mediterranean region prepared?
 
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  • #9
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Before the two today

Code: 
time,                        lat  ,   long  , depth, mag
2016-03-11 T04:16:48.030Z, 35.7334,  -3.5836,    10, 5.3
2016-03-09 T23:46:07.720Z, 35.6823,  -3.553 ,    10, 4.9
2016-03-03 T11:36:27.760Z, 35.5933,  -3.5422,    10, 5
2016-02-28 T11:03:17.630Z, 35.5718,  -3.5728, 11.72, 4.3
2016-02-23 T10:12:33.000Z, 35.7094,  -3.5584,    10, 4.7
2016-02-23 T08:46:01.010Z, 35.6866,  -3.6285,    10, 4.8
2016-02-22 T04:14:30.100Z, 35.7366,  -3.5222,    10, 4.6
2016-02-22 T03:46:02.450Z, 35.735 ,  -3.5106,    10, 5.1
2016-02-08 T11:21:43.780Z, 35.3652,  -3.8782,  8.47, 4.2
2016-02-03 T21:27:49.390Z, 35.6091,  -3.7462,    10, 4
2016-02-01 T23:50:48.860Z, 35.4566,  -3.8528,    10, 4.2
2016-01-31 T16:25:27.440Z, 36.5911,  -3.0498,    10, 4.9
2016-01-29 T01:16:20.570Z, 35.4263,  -3.8032,    10, 4.1
2016-01-28 T19:48:51.410Z, 35.474 ,  -3.8039,    10, 4.5
2016-01-27 T21:57:49.590Z, 35.5796,  -3.7851,    10, 4.3
2016-01-27 T06:32:08.060Z, 35.6926,  -3.578 ,    10, 4.9
2016-01-26 T04:35:59.240Z, 35.5265,  -3.6992,    10, 4.5
2016-01-26 T01:16:45.990Z, 35.4901,  -3.9411,   1.2, 4.1
2016-01-25 T18:17:33.430Z, 35.5892,  -3.7684,    10, 4.1
2016-01-25 T16:02:43.560Z, 35.5363,  -3.7839,    10, 4.3
2016-01-25 T14:52:42.740Z, 35.739 ,  -3.5856,    10, 4.9
2016-01-25 T11:29:23.070Z, 35.4901,  -3.7475, 21.43, 4.4
2016-01-25 T08:25:06.100Z, 35.5453,  -3.6703,    10, 4.7
2016-01-25 T08:15:29.050Z, 35.6955,  -3.6741,    10, 4.1
2016-01-25 T07:55:15.780Z, 35.4917,  -3.8394,    10, 4.2
2016-01-25 T06:10:41.960Z, 35.5051,  -3.8783,    10, 5.2
2016-01-25 T05:54:05.460Z, 35.4764,  -3.7734,    10, 5.1
2016-01-25 T05:37:11.890Z, 35.4992,  -3.8211,    10, 4.2
2016-01-25 T05:03:46.300Z, 35.6749,  -3.7449,    10, 4.7
2016-01-25 T04:34:19.170Z, 35.6805,  -3.723 ,    10, 5.3
2016-01-25 T04:30:55.190Z, 35.5953,  -3.8166,    10, 5
2016-01-25 T04:22:02.730Z, 35.6493,  -3.6818,    12, 6.3
2016-01-21 T13:47:19.860Z, 35.6236,  -3.65  ,    10, 5.1

January had a swarm, particularly after the mag 6.3. Is it picking up again?
 
  • #11
Astronuc said:
Thanks for indicating this. So activity has picked up in this area, this year.

You're very welcome. :smile: Yes, it seems so. While 6.3 Mw earthquakes are not so rare onshore, I am not aware of anyone else so powerful in the Alboran Sea, much less "lasting" for over 6 weeks.

Astronuc said:
I wonder if we should expect a larger earthquake in the vicinity in the near term. Are the coastal areas and nations of Mediterranean region prepared?

Here in Spain we have had quite extensive seismo-resistant building codes for ages, especially enforced in the South and Southeast, which are well-known seismic areas. On the opposite, since large tsunamis are exceedingly rare in this side of the Mediterranean (the last major one happened about 11,500 years ago as a result of a submarine landslide), there's no preparedness that I'm aware of (which is quite frightening in the Atlantic side of Gibraltar, the scenario of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami originated in the AGFZ... it killed people in coastal Cádiz and Huelva too. Those areas were not very populated back then, but now they sure are, and there're lots of industry too. Even the Rota Naval Base is there.)

The deadliest earthquake in Spain in recent times was in Lorca (inner Murcia) in 2011, killing 9 and causing kind-of-extensive damage (depending on zones and especially in historical buildings), but only because it was a bit strange: very shallow (barely 1 km) with the epicenter about 3-4 km from the city center and a weird horizontal "slipping" component; its actual magnitude was just Mw=5.1. We have had way more powerful earthquakes in Southern Spain (like a 6.3 Mw in Albuñuelas, Granada, on April 11th 2010, and it caused zero damage or injuries. Same in Isla Cristina, Huelva, on December 17th 2009. That Lorca thing was weird, I'm telling you.)

So here in Spain, I'd say yes quite a lot for earthquakes, not at all for large tsunamis, which don't seem to be a probable issue along the entire Mediterranean coastline, but they could be in the Southwestern Atlantic coast. I happen to live in a coastal Mediterranean city, very close to the sea, and I'd sure bet my life running up the stairs of any building ---which will most probably withstand the earthquake--- to flee an incoming tsunami ---which is going to "enter all the way up to the kitchen" as we say here, since there are no defenses--- that seems to be highly improbable except for coastal Cádiz and Huelva. If you can read Spanish, I'd suggest you this article about tsunamis in Spanish and Western Mediterranean waters from a popular science blog which is widely regarded as the best or one of the best ones in Spain: http://www.lapizarradeyuri.com/2014/05/08/big95-el-gran-tsunami-del-mediterraneo-espanol/

I don't know about Portugal, but I have been there a couple of times and at first sight I'd tend to think they will be more or less similarly prepared. On the opposite, I've visited Morocco too and I'm pretty sure that quite a lot of the "popular" buildings there wouldn't withstand a serious earthquake... you just need to see them to realize it. Possibly the newest ones and modern infrastructures will have some built-in seismo-resistance, but I wouldn't bet one single euro for the others. Very much like Algeria, where I have never been, but every time they have a powerful earthquake it seems to kill thousands. --- Actually, I have just checked and the 2004 Al Hoceima earthquake, also a 6.3 Mw, killed around 630 persons and left 15,000 homeless. Notice how similar earthquakes on the Spanish side didn't kill or injure anyone and caused no reported damage, except for that strange Lorca thing.
 
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  • #12
A 4.8 mbLg tonight:

http://www.ign.es/ign/layoutIn/sismoDetalleTerremotos.do?locale=es&evid=ign2016ffom&zona=1

...among many others:

http://www.ign.es/ign/layoutIn/sismoListadoTerremotos.do?locale=es&zona=1&cantidad_dias=5 (notice how many "ALBORÁN SUR" are there.)
 
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  • #13
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  • #14
davenn said:
The M5+ events continue with a M 5.6 a couple of hrs ago

M 5.6 - 63km NNE of Al Hoceima, Morocco

Time: 2016-03-15 04:40:40 UTC
Location: 35.757°N 3.613°W
Depth: 10.0 km
Wow. It's the same earthquake. Here it's been "re-scored" from 4.8 to 5.1 mbLg just a couple minutes ago:

http://www.ign.es/ign/layoutIn/sismoDetalleTerremotos.do?locale=es&evid=ign2016ffom&zona=1
 
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  • #15
xpell said:
Wow. It's the same earthquake. Here it's been "re-scored" to 5.1 mbLg just a couple minutes ago:

http://www.ign.es/ign/layoutIn/sismoDetalleTerremotos.do?locale=es&evid=ign2016ffom&zona=1

Yeah, ... mblg is sort of an oddball magnitude scale
The USGS ( for a quake of that magnitude) will be most likely be using plain Mb ( body wave magnitude)
Altho they would have probably assigned a Mw value for it. Mw magnitudes are generally not the one used
unless the event is in the M6.0 and up size (and it isn't uncommon to see 6.0 - 6.4 events with a Mb listing).Dave
 
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  • #16
davenn said:
Yeah, ... mblg is sort of an oddball magnitude scale
The USGS ( for a quake of that magnitude) will be most likely be using plain Mb ( body wave magnitude)
Altho they would have probably assigned a Mw value for it. Mw magnitudes are generally not the one used
unless the event is in the M6.0 and up size (and it isn't uncommon to see 6.0 - 6.4 events with a Mb listing).

Here they use any http://www.ign.es/ign/head/sismoTipoMagnitud.do , as defined in the http://www.ign.es/ign/layoutIn/sismoListadoTerremotos.do?locale=es&zona=1&cantidad_dias=5 , I guess out of convenience. mbLg seems to be quite used, I don't know why. Later they (usually) reassess the largest ones (5+ or so) and convert the magnitude to Mw.

Definitely we're having a party here during the last weeks in the Alboran Sea.
 
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  • #17
xpell said:
Definitely we're having a party here during the last weeks in the Alboran Sea.

what country are you from ?
 
  • #18
davenn said:
what country are you from ?
Spain, Eastern Mediterranean coast, very close to that old sea of the Western civilization... :wink:
 
  • #19
xpell said:
Spain, Eastern Mediterranean coast, very close to that old sea of the Western civilization... :wink:

wow cool ! :)

Im in Sydney, Australia, but home country is New Zealand ... with the nickname " The shaky Isles"

Dave
 
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  • #20
davenn said:
wow cool ! :)

Im in Sydney, Australia, but home country is New Zealand ... with the nickname " The shaky Isles"

Heck, I've always wanted to discover those "South Seas." :wink: Unfortunately it hasn't been possible... by now! :-p
 
  • #21
well as long as you are still reasonably healthy and can save a few $$, there's always hope :smile:
just in case you were not aware, I run my own seismic station at home. Digitally record 6 channels ( 5 of them are online)
.
http://www.sydneystormcity.com/seismograms.htm

D
 
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  • #22
davenn said:
well as long as you are still reasonably healthy and can save a few $$, there's always hope :smile:
just in case you were not aware, I run my own seismic station at home. Digitally record 6 channels ( 5 of them are online)
.
http://www.sydneystormcity.com/seismograms.htm

D
Added to my bookmarks! :smile:
 
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  • #23
should have also said ... They update every 5 minutes
 
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  • #24

FAQ: Mag 5.0 - 49km N of Boudinar, Morocco

1. What caused the Mag 5.0 earthquake in Morocco?

The Mag 5.0 earthquake in Morocco was most likely caused by movement along a fault line. Earthquakes occur when stress builds up along a fault and is released suddenly, causing the ground to shake.

2. Was anyone injured or killed in the earthquake?

As of now, there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities due to the Mag 5.0 earthquake in Morocco. However, it is still important to stay aware and prepared for potential after-shocks.

3. Is this earthquake considered to be a major event?

A Mag 5.0 earthquake is considered to be a moderate earthquake. It can cause some damage to poorly constructed buildings and may be felt by people in the surrounding area, but it is not typically considered a major event.

4. Are earthquakes common in Morocco?

Earthquakes do occur in Morocco, but they are not as frequent as in other regions such as the Pacific Ring of Fire. However, Morocco is located near a major fault line, so earthquakes can occur from time to time.

5. Could this earthquake lead to a tsunami?

No, the Mag 5.0 earthquake in Morocco is not expected to generate a tsunami. Tsunamis are more commonly associated with larger earthquakes, usually above a magnitude of 7.0, and occur in areas with significant bodies of water nearby.

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