Storm surge and tsunami deposits along the Moroccan coasts: state of the art and future perspectives

Otmane Khalfaoui (), Laurent Dezileau, Nadia Mhammdi, Fida Medina, Meryem Mojtahid, Otmane Raji, Hajar El Talibi, Samira Mellas, Jean-Philipe Degeai, Khalid El Khalidi, Maria Snoussi, Zourarah Bendahhou and Khadija Aboumaria
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Otmane Khalfaoui: University Chouaïb Doukkali
Laurent Dezileau: Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, UNIROUEN, CNRS
Nadia Mhammdi: Institut Scientifique, University Mohammed V in Rabat
Fida Medina: Commission of Natural Hazards
Meryem Mojtahid: Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences, UMR 6112
Otmane Raji: Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
Hajar El Talibi: Abdelmalek Essaadi University
Samira Mellas: Institut Supérieur Des Etudes Maritimes (ISEM)
Jean-Philipe Degeai: Université Montpellier 3, CNRS, MCC
Khalid El Khalidi: University Chouaïb Doukkali
Maria Snoussi: Institut Scientifique, University Mohammed V in Rabat
Zourarah Bendahhou: University Chouaïb Doukkali
Khadija Aboumaria: FSTT, University Abdelmalek Essaadi

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2023, vol. 117, issue 3, No 1, 2113-2137

Abstract: Abstract The Moroccan coasts are occasionally inundated by storm surges and tsunamis. Local historical archives recorded some of these events, such as the storm surge of 1913 CE and the tsunami of 1755 CE. The latter remains the most destructive event the country has ever faced, with major human and economic losses recorded mainly between the two cities of Tangier and Safi. The privileged way to prevent any hazard related to these events is to study their past occurrences and impacts. However, historical evidences about these natural hazards are often very scarce to determine their return periods and evaluate their intensities. The scientific community increasingly uses sedimentary archives from coastal environments, since they offer a viable complement to historical archives. Several studies using this approach have been conducted on the Moroccan coast in recent years; however, until now, there has been no review dealing with these studies, which is the main objective of this paper. Twenty sites with traces of coastal inundation deposits have been inventoried during this work, and most of them are located along the Atlantic coast. The Mediterranean side remains poorly studied despite the presence of tsunami and storm surge risks. The review draws attention also to the absence of chronological data for most of the coastal inundation deposits recognized up to now along the Moroccan coasts, which is a major issue that prevents the determination of the return period of these events.

Keywords: Tsunami; Storm surge; Boulders; Washover; Morocco; 1755 Lisbon tsunami (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-023-05940-z

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