• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Mysterious lights spotted in the sky before Moroccan earthquake have baffled scientists

Home> News> World News

Published 18:21 13 Sep 2023 GMT+1

Mysterious lights spotted in the sky before Moroccan earthquake have baffled scientists

Videos of mysterious flashing lights in Morocco lighting up the sky shortly before an earthquake rocked the country are going viral online

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

Videos of bright lights across Morocco's skies are leaving people baffled after the clips were taken shortly before the country's devastating earthquake.

Morocco was hit with a 6.8 magnitude earthquake on Friday, 8 September, and - at the time of writing - almost 3,000 people have died.

A further 5,500 people have been left injured.

The famous The Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh has been damaged in the quake.
Getty/Malcolm P Chapman

Advert

The disaster has been labelled as the deadliest earthquake the country has experienced in decades, and experts believe it may have happened as a result of Africa's tectonic plate moving north and colliding with the Eurasian plate.

But before the earthquake struck, some Moroccans spotted bright lights travelling across the sky.

In one clip shared online, an asteroid-like light shoots across the sky. Other videos demonstrate what looks to be lightening.

While these lights are rare, they're not unheard of and are referred to as 'earthquake lights'.

Explaining the phenomena, geophysicist Friedemann Freund told The Washington Post: “The [Morocco] earthquake happened at nighttime.

Advert

"The condition for earthquake lights to be seen by people and maybe even recorded by cameras would be relatively high.”

The so-called earthquake lights are different from the usual lightening bolts you might see during a storm. They reportedly travel from ground to cloud and are activated by electric charges linked to seismic activity within the earth.

As to why people saw different types of bright lights, earthquake lights can come in different shapes and forms.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the lights can present themselves as sheet lightning, balls of light, streamers, and steady glows.

The strange lights seen in Morocco are known as 'earthquake lights'.
X/@Eyaaaad

Advert

While Freund believes the phenomena is generated by an earthquake’s plate tectonic movement, other times earthquake lights have been seen have been a result of electricity arcing from the power lines shaking.

Earthquake lights, referred to as EQLs by the USGS, appear to be an ongoing debate in geological profession.

While countries like Japan, Haiti, Turkey and Indonesia are classed as 'earthquake-prone', it's apparently 'rare' for a country like Morocco to experience such a devastating quake - but not impossible.

Florent Brenguier, a seismologist at Grenoble University's Institut des Sciences de la Terre, explained to FRANCE 24: "It's important to remember that the whole of Morocco, and the whole Mediterranean region in general, is susceptible to major earthquakes."

Despite quakes being rare, Brenguier added that when they do happen 'their magnitude can be significant'.

Advert

"The most striking example is the Agadir earthquake in 1960, which killed 12,000 people and virtually destroyed the entire city," he added.

Featured Image Credit: X/@Eyaaad / @The_1Teller

Topics: Science, World News, Environment, Weird

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

X

@NiamhShackleton

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Scientists warn that thousands of mini black holes could be hidden in your house
  • Scientists make shock discovery when cutting open world's rarest whale that's never been spotted alive before
  • ‘Deadliest lake in the world’ has mysterious secret that turns animals to ‘stone’
  • Scientists believe Belize's Great Blue Hole hides a 'concerning secret'

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    Jurors reach partial verdict in Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex-trafficking trial

    The jury reached a partial verdict after more than 12 hours of deliberations, following weeks of disturbing testimony.

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Archaeologists make 90 metre long Ancient Roman discovery buried on the ocean floor

    Divers excavated something in Italy that could reveal Roman-era secrets

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    'Worst shark attack ever' saw desperate crew feed dead to sharks as they circled in bloodbath

    If you've seen Jaws, then you'll know about this

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    'Infuriated' swingers speak out on the impact Diddy's 'freak-off' parties had on community

    Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers caused an outcry in the swinging community

    News