Urban planning characterization based on earthquake parameters for development: Case of the city of Al Hoceima, Morocco

¹ Environment and Society, Laboratory of Geomorphology, Cadi Ayyad University, 40000 Marrakech, Morocco
² Laboratory of Applied and Marine Geosciences Geotechnics and Geohazards, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, 93030 Tetouan, Morocco
³ Applied Sciences Laboratory LSA, Environmental Management and Civil Engineering GEGC Research Team, ENSAH, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan 93030, Morocco
⁴ Laboratory of Applied Geosciences, Faculty of Sciences, UMP - Oujda, Morocco
⁵ Biology, Environment and Health, Department of Biology, Errachidia Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Moulay Ismaïl, Meknes, Morocco

^* Corresponding author: h.azour.ced@uca.ac.ma

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the earthquake in Al Hoceima City through the combination of land use and seismic hazards. This study is based on a probabilistic analysis of the seismic hazard performed following an attenuation to predict the maximum ground acceleration at each square kilometer. The land use of the area was estimated using GIS tools with the Gaussian maximum likelihood integrated supervised analysis method on remote sensing data processed from Landsat images 8, and the distribution of the values of PGA (Peak Ground Acceleration) in Al Hoceima. The numerical values ranging from this latter are around between 0.268g and 0.275g within the city, The maximum values indicate that the acceleration towards the north is approaching the seismic source of the Alboran Sea, which is regarded as a principal source generating several seismic events. The main global objective of this paper is to assess seismic hazard risk by combining seismic hazards (PGA) and land use maps, is to identify the most susceptible areas, especially those that have had expanding populations.