Philippe Vernant — a specialist in active tectonics, particularly in Morocco, at the University of Montpellier — answered AFP’s question’s on the devastating quake. – Was the Morocco quake a surprise? The Agadir earthquake (magnitude 5.7 in 1960) destroyed the entire city and killed almost 15,000 people, and more recently there was the Al Hoecima earthquake (magnitude 6.4 in 2004), further out on the Mediterranean. – Was the Morocco quake similar to the one in Turkey in February? – What explains the violence of the Morocco quake?
