Slightly after 7.05 am local time (which is GMT) on Thursday 8 August 2013, the United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 8 km off the north coast of Morocco. A quake this small this far offshore is not likely to have caused any damage or injuries, though it was apparently people have reported feeling the quake at Rouadi in the Moroccan coast.
The approximate location of the 8 August 2013 Moroccan Earthquake. Google Maps.
Morocco lies on the northernmost part of the African Plate, while Spain to the north is part of Eurasia. Africa is pushing into Europe from the south, which causes Earthquakes around the Mediterranean Basin. These are most common in southeast Europe, but those in northwest Africa, while less frequent, are often larger and more deadly. In February 2004 a magnitude 6.4 quake on the north Moroccan coast destroyed over 2500 homes, killing at least 628 people and making over 15 000 homeless.
See also Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake in the Azores, Earthquake of the coast of El Hierro, Earthquake in southern Spain, Earthquake in the Auvergne Region, France and Earthquake in northern Algeria.
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