A rare geological phenomenon which could have an impact on the local economy of the region while its inhabitants are still healing their wounds, a month after the terrible earthquake of magnitude 7 which left nearly 3,000 dead.
On the path from Taroudant to Marrakech, at around 1,500 meters above sea level, the recently cleared winding road is crossed by a torrent of clear water. “Usually, to have this much water, it has to rain a lot. But this flow is thanks to the earthquake that it appeared. All this is in the hands of Allah,” concludes Mohammed Mbarek who runs a small grocery store right next to the source. Like him, all the inhabitants of the region have noticed for a month, the appearance of these water inflows all along the path which crosses the mountain.
>> One month after the deadly earthquake, it is still time to clear the rubble.
According to Professor Hassan Ibouh, professor of structural geology at the University of Marrakech, it was the earthquake which struck the region on the night of September 8 to 9 which was at the origin of the phenomenon. “The water that came out already existed in the mountainhe explains. It is stored in porous rocks. Cracks, fractures, tears in rocks are a space where it will be stored. And the earthquake released this water to the topographic surface”. Sources of pure water in the rocks have since flowed continuously into the valley of the Tizi N’Test pass.
A rebalancing of wealth?
In this mountainous area accustomed to summer droughts, the arrival of water is often seen as a blessing, but due to the numerous material damages caused by the earthquake, this new water is unusable, explains Driss Bouzid, head of the douar of Ighil Targ: “Before, we had little water, we only had two sources.”
“After the earthquake, water became much more abundant. Unfortunately the earthquake also destroyed the crop terraces.”
Driss Bouzid, head of the Ighil Targ douarat franceinfo
The agricultural terraces having collapsed, they must be rebuilt and the water irrigation circuits readjusted to the new flow. In the meantime, farmers can no longer work. The breeders had to sell the few heads of cattle that survived the tragedy, as they did not yet have the means to take care of them.
Furthermore, if the earthquake opened new paths for mountain water, it closed others. In the long term, these changes could destabilize the local economy.“It’s probably going to change people’s lives, says Professor Hassan Ibouh. If the source which is next to the lands of the rich is lost, they will be difficult to work and gradually abandoned. But if a poor person had land that had no water and today a spring emerges from it, it is lucky for him. It will change its economic context.” For now, the future of these springs depends on the water reserves they have and the upcoming precipitation this winter.