Seismic Risk Perception in Al-Marj, Libya: a Case Study After the 1963 Earthquake

Open Journal of Earthquake Research, 2020, 9, 349-366 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ojer ISSN Online: 2169-9631 ISSN Print: 2169-9623 Seismic Risk Perception in Al-Marj, Libya: A Case Study after the 1963 Earthquake Somaia S. Suwihli1,2, Thomas R. Paradise1 1Department of Geosciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA 2Department of Geography, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya How to cite this paper: Suwihli, S.S. and Abstract Paradise, T.R. (2020) Seismic Risk Percep- tion in Al-Marj, Libya: A Case Study after Individual beliefs, knowledge, and perception play a vital role in understand- the 1963 Earthquake. Open Journal of Earth- ing and coping with the consequences of earthquakes. These perceptions then quake Research, 9, 349-366. mold the broader perceptions of risk and danger held by communities, which https://doi.org/10.4236/ojer.2020.94020 ultimately create public policy. This survey study was designed and conducted Received: July 1, 2020 to assess the perceptions of seismic hazard and risk of earthquake survivors Accepted: August 3, 2020 and residents in Al-Marj, Libya—a city razed in a 1963 tremor. In 2019, 364 Published: August 6, 2020 earthquake survivors and residents were surveyed for their knowledge and Copyright © 2020 by author(s) and perception of earthquakes. Surveys were conducted in Arabic and included Scientific Research Publishing Inc. demographic and narrative questions in addition to Likert-scaled responses. This work is licensed under the Creative A number of predictable, surprising, and valuable correlations were found. It Commons Attribution International was found that during earthquakes most respondents prayed to Allah, or did License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ nothing, in comparison to escape, seeking shelter, or running for help. The Open Access majority believed their neighborhoods were unsafe while questions illiciting some aspect of quake recurrence caused a complete refusal to answer; they commented “I do not know” or “only God knows”. Most respondents did not consider preparation to be important, but younger respondents were relative- ly more prepared. Surprisingly, highly educated respondents were less prepared, however, they also attributed earthquakes to tectonic slipping and not divine retaliation or retribution. However, less-educated respondents stated “I do not know”, “Allah punishes”, or “Allah tests the believers”. Most par- ticipants considered themselves well-informed about earthquakes from pop- ular media sources (internet, TV, magazines). These findings were vital in gaining an insight into hazard perception and high-risk behavior in a seismically active region like Libya. When natural hazard recurrence (i.e. earthquakes) are better understood, then the potential consequences of injury, damages, and deaths may be assessed, and an overall plan to produce sus- tainable disaster management strategies and decrease risk can be created and implemented. DOI: 10.4236/ojer.2020.94020 Aug. 6, 2020 349 Open Journal of Earthquake Research S. S. Suwihli, T. R. Paradise Keywords Libya, Al-Marj, Risk Perception, Preparation, Vulnerability, Earthquakes 1. Introduction Because of its unpredictable nature injury, death, and damages from earthquake, human life and property are often more vulnerable to this natural disaster [1]. In fact, a natural hazard becomes a disaster when it causes deaths, injury, and ma- terial losses [2]. This new perspective confirms that disasters do not occur, but are caused [3]. It takes a long time to recover from a disaster and regain nor- malcy. In terms of the natural hazard response, two major approaches have been recognized and addressed [4]. First, the top-down approach focuses on im- proved hazard and disaster response (e.g. through public awareness and hazard training programs) and hazard planning and regulation (e.g. through land-use planning, and the design and implementation of building codes). Second, the bottom-up approach puts greater emphasis on the necessity to understand the social, political and economic processes that create societal vulnerability to hazard [5]. The bottom-up approach, or the community-based approach, was first coined by Andrew Maskrey [6] through his influential book, Disaster Mitigation: a community based approach. Across Turkey, citizens demanded action by their governments when contractors had not followed building codes and had used low-quality materials; these poor construction standards exacerbated the damage following the 1999 Izmit earthquake [4]. In the US south Florida, when it be- came clear that poor construction methods were responsible for much of the avoidable damage caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 [7] similar outrage developed. Maskrey objected to the top-down perspective that many people are living in vulnerable situations due to lack of knowledge or understanding about hazard exposure or due to immediate economic prospects. Living in an area sus- ceptible to serious earthquake exposure, in poorly constructed structures, for in- stance, may well be perceived to pose less of a direct threat to well-being than everyday concerns such as having no way of earning a living and having little to eat [6]. People are unlikely to adapt or change their behavior or habits to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards if this increases their vulnerability to other major concerns. In these situations, the top-down approach seems to be less effec- tive in reducing community vulnerability. Therefore, it is argued that the first step for reducing vulnerability should come from within the community. People should be aware of, and concerned about their own safety [4]. Research has re- peatedly confirmed that people are most likely to take protective action if they believe that they are at risk [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]. Under the Roman occupation of North Africa, the 262AD and 365AD earthquakes razed the region of Cyrenaica in northeastern Libya. However, since 1900 the coastal zone of northeastern Libya near Al Jabal Al Akhdar continues to be a DOI: 10.4236/ojer.2020.94020 350 Open Journal of Earthquake Research S. S. Suwihli, T. R. Paradise seismically active, although most earthquakes produced moderate magnitudes, generally ≥4.5 (MI). A major event was recorded in Al-Marj where the city was destroyed by such an earthquake (5.6R) on 21 February, 1963 [13]. This study focuses on perceptions of earthquake recurrence, construction standard policies, and the level of preparedness of the survivors of Al-Marj tremor. Here the belief, attitudes, knowledge, perception, and actions of the individuals were considered to play a vital role in understanding and coping with the consequences of quake. 2. Study Site The modern city of Al-Marj, (30˚N, 20˚W) in northeastern Libya, at the western end of the Jebel al-Akhdar Mountain (Figure 1), is the ancient Greco-Roman Cyrenaican town of Barce established c.550 B.C. [14] in the eastern coastal province of Libya. It was a part of the Greco-Roman province of Crete and Cy- renaica. The area came to be known as Barqa during the Islamic period [15]. The present town grew around a Turkish fort built in 1842 (now restored). Cyrenaica was also the name of the administrative division from 1927 during the Italian occupation of Libya when the Italians developed the town as an administrative center, market nexus, and hill resort from 1913-1941 [16]. The name, Cyrenaica was used in the Kingdom of Libya until 1963 [15]. Al-Marj is situated on an alluvial plain which has provided fertile soil for agriculture for centuries, which lead to its early settlement during Greek times [17]. The flat plain is located at the top of the first escarpment of Al Jebel al-Akhdar, which runs longitudinally descending toward the sea to the north, rising 200 to 400 meters above sea level. Directly behind this plain is the terrace of the second escarpment rising 400 to 875 meters above sea level also facing north, running in parallel with the first escarpment. Sited on the plain between the first and second escarpment is the city of Al-Marj. These two escarpments trend to the northeast created a “grand staircase” lifted tectonically from the Figure 1. Location map of the study area. Cartography by authors, 2020. DOI: 10.4236/ojer.2020.94020 351 Open Journal of Earthquake Research S. S. Suwihli, T. R. Paradise adjacent mountainous range of Al-Jebel al-Akhdar [18]. Al-Marj was destroyed in 1963, then rebuilt on rock substrates 3 miles (5 km) from the old city [18]. The new city is 90 km (56 miles) northeast of Benghazi and is the administrative seat of the Marj District. Al-Marj and Darnah are the major service and commercial centers and centers of major agricultural activities including fisheries [18]. It has been postulated that these escarpments are up- lifted fault-plains, however recession has taken place since the scarps were formed, and the these controlling faults now exist north of the present-day escarpments [17]. Erosion has deteriorated the fault-bound cliffs leaving a rounded and cracked escarpment face and plain [18]. Figure 2 illustrates the coast of northeastern Libya in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar areas which continues to be a seismically active. 3. The 1963 Earthquake On 21 February 1963, at 17:14 (local time), during the 27th night of Ramadan, an earthquake shook the region when the Muslim inhabitants of the town gathered in their houses to take their evening meal after the sundown. The shock was centered 13 km northwest of Al-Marj. The epicenter was located at 32.6˚N and 20.9˚E, while the focus of the earthquake was approximately 33 km below the ground surface. The tremor hit with a Richter magnitude of 5.6, and a maximum intensity of IX on the modified Mercalli intensity scale [19]. The earthquake le- veled most structures, killing 300 and injuring 375 people; the whole population of 13,000 residents was left homeless [17].

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