Mapping Surface Earthquakes from 1990 to 2019 in the Al-Hoceima Region-Northeastern Morocco-Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Several strong earthquakes have occurred in the Al-Hoceima region of northern Morocco in the last few years, including the magnitude Mw 6.0 May 1994 earthquake, magnitude Mw 6.0 February 2004, and magnitude Mw 6.4. January 2016 earthquakes. Therefore, the infrastructure (e.g., faculty, municipal stadium) in this region requires a suitable earthquake-resistant design, especially in areas that include well-established neotectonic activity. The aim of this study is to find the areas that show the most significant surface tectonic activity in Al-Hoceima during the period 1990 and 2019. A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial data analysis was performed based on the seismic catalog published by the National Geographic Institute (IGN) and Landsat data. The results of this study show that the western region of Al-Hoceima has the highest tectonic activity in the region as expressed by its structures of high lineament densities and the occurrence of several strong shallow earthquakes. The study of hypocentral earthquakes allows us to identify the presence of active faults, especially when the earthquake foci form a linear pattern.