The Cycle of Forgetting in the Face of Earthquakes in Morocco : A Geo-Historical Analysis of the Social Construction of Vulnerability
Abstract
Located at the convergence of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, Morocco has experienced three major earthquakes over slightly more than six decades: Agadir (1960), Al Hoceima (2004), and Al Haouz (2023). Despite the gradual strengthening of the seismic regulatory framework, recent disasters continue to reveal persistent territorial vulnerabilities, particularly related to building fragility, rapid urbanization, and shortcomings in prevention mechanisms. This article examines the mechanisms through which seismic vulnerability is reproduced in Morocco through a geo-historical approach, comparing the country's three major earthquakes over six decades. The central hypothesis is that this persistence follows a recurring cycle structured around the sequence: "forgetting → catastrophe → reaction → mobilization → relaxation → forgetting." This cycle reflects a social construction of vulnerability in which public policy temporalities, territorial dynamics, and the gradual weakening of risk memory play a central role. The analysis highlights a recurrent dynamic: each disaster triggers strong institutional and media reactions, followed by a temporary reinforcement of prevention measures, before a gradual decline leads to the reconstruction of vulnerabilities. The absence of a sustainably institutionalized memory of risk, the weakness of risk education, and insufficient control mechanisms appear to be major factors explaining this reproduction process. The article, therefore, argues that seismic vulnerability is not a geological inevitability, but rather the result of historical, social, and territorial processes. It also emphasizes the importance of institutionalizing risk memory as a key condition for building long-term territorial resilience.
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BibTeX
@article{aatar2026cycle,
title = {{The Cycle of Forgetting in the Face of Earthquakes in Morocco : A Geo-Historical Analysis of the Social Construction of Vulnerability}},
author = {Hanane Aatar},
journal = {African and Mediterranean Journal of Architecture and Urbanism},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48399/imist.prsm/amjau-vi.67507},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05766428v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Cycle of Forgetting in the Face of Earthquakes in Morocco : A Geo-Historical Analysis of the Social Construction of Vulnerability
AU - Hanane Aatar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
JO - African and Mediterranean Journal of Architecture and Urbanism
DO - 10.48399/imist.prsm/amjau-vi.67507
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05766428v1
AB - Located at the convergence of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, Morocco has experienced three major earthquakes over slightly more than six decades: Agadir (1960), Al Hoceima (2004), and Al Haouz (2023). Despite the gradual strengthening of the seismic regulatory framework, recent disasters continue to reveal persistent territorial vulnerabilities, particularly related to building fragility, rapid urbanization, and shortcomings in prevention mechanisms. This article examines the mechanisms through which seismic vulnerability is reproduced in Morocco through a geo-historical approach, comparing the country's three major earthquakes over six decades. The central hypothesis is that this persistence follows a recurring cycle structured around the sequence: "forgetting → catastrophe → reaction → mobilization → relaxation → forgetting." This cycle reflects a social construction of vulnerability in which public policy temporalities, territorial dynamics, and the gradual weakening of risk memory play a central role. The analysis highlights a recurrent dynamic: each disaster triggers strong institutional and media reactions, followed by a temporary reinforcement of prevention measures, before a gradual decline leads to the reconstruction of vulnerabilities. The absence of a sustainably institutionalized memory of risk, the weakness of risk education, and insufficient control mechanisms appear to be major factors explaining this reproduction process. The article, therefore, argues that seismic vulnerability is not a geological inevitability, but rather the result of historical, social, and territorial processes. It also emphasizes the importance of institutionalizing risk memory as a key condition for building long-term territorial resilience.
SN - 2665-7953
ER -