Morocco survivors seek aid as earthquake toll passes 2,100

Fingers crossed for the many people missing.

The damage done to Morocco's cultural heritage became more evident as local media reported the collapse of a historically important 12th century mosque. The quake also damaged parts of Marrakech old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This shows the folly of assuming old buildings have been "tested" by earthquakes and are structurally sound. We live in a traditional Japanese house (it's rebuilt) and people in Japan do this all the time, saying old houses are automatically better than anything built in Showa due to "ancient knowledge". Sometimes people do this because they want to believe the dirt cheap house they've bought in the countryside is better than it actually is. All buildings should be evaluated on an individual basis. Simple physics says an unbraced post and beam structure will be weak against lateral movement.

kohakuebisu

You can request the local authority if you own your house to make an earthquake survey of the building. Some are free, others a small charge. Lack of diagonals in traditional Japanese houses.

Moroccan houses are made with mud bricks. No strength in an earthquake.

Did anyone see the tv show in which a Japanese guy wanted to build homes made from pet bottles in earthquake stricken Haiti?

Interesting idea as it’s difficult to be quashed to death by pet bottles.

RIP

Moroccan houses are made with mud bricks. No strength in an earthquake.

Most of the world including most of Europe would not do much better subject to a similar strength earthquake. Italian towns suffer major damage from much smaller earthquakes, earthquakes that in Japan or California would be a nuisance but cause no major damage or injury.

Much of the world's buildings are made of unreinforced masony. Even big buildings. Doesn't matter how good the quality of the bricks, if there isn't steel rebar running both vertically and horizontally through the masonry and it all isn't sitting on a reinforced concrete foundation is will all come crashing down in an earthquake.