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Commonwealth Finance Ministers met today in Marrakesh, Morocco to discuss the reform of the global financial architecture, with particular attention to two pivotal areas, scaling up development finance and addressing debt vulnerabilities.

The September 2023 earthquake in Morocco was similar to one that shook Fairbanks, Alaska in 1947. The main difference between the damage caused in two events lies in how Faibanks' homes are built and its widespread, distributed population.

Some places are prone to hazards but there’s nowhere where the risk is zero. We can make good decisions to lower the odds of such hazards turning into disasters. Technology can help determine where to make investments to save the most lives.

The quake, which has killed thousands, was unusually large for Morocco and struck a region where most buildings are not earthquake-resilient.

Traditional construction methods were no match for the earthquake that rocked Morocco on Friday night, an engineering expert says, and the area will continue to see such devastation unless updated building techniques are adopted.

The recent events in Morocco and Turkey serve as a stark reminder there are much more pressing needs – particularly in regions with limited economic growth and an insufficient enforcement of standards.

Earthquakes are difficult to predict and cannot be avoided. However, integrated studies of the region’s geology, geophysics and geodesy can help mitigate their impact.

Earthquakes cannot be predicted, even with the current knowledge in seismology. What seismologists can do is establish the areas in which earthquakes are most likely to occur, even establish the probability of their occurrence and its uncertainty.