December 10, 2025 — infopulsetoday.com — Fez is a city of 1.256 million people, according to the 2024 census.
It is also a city where two adjacent buildings came down on December 10, 2025, killing 22 and injuring several others. Those two facts — the population and the collapse — are now connected in a way that demands attention from the authorities.
The buildings that fell were likely constructed using traditional materials and techniques.
That detail, reported from the scene, points directly to a vulnerability the city has carried for centuries. Fez dates back to the 8th century.
Its old town centers on the Fez River, which flows west to east.
Hills and the Atlas Mountains ring the city to the northwest. This is not a place of modern high-rises. It is a place of historic structures, many built with methods and materials that time and weather wear down.
Rescue crews are still working. They are digging through rubble, searching for survivors, and providing medical aid to the injured.
The immediate focus is on the trapped and the wounded.
That is the human task at hand. But the longer task — the one that will define whether this disaster repeats — is understanding why the buildings collapsed in the first place.
Investigators will look at structural integrity. That is standard procedure after any building failure. But the report notes something specific: the buildings were “likely to have been constructed using traditional materials and techniques, which may have been vulnerable to damage or deterioration over time.” This is not a guess.
It is a pattern seen in older cities across the region.
Traditional construction often relies on materials like stone, brick, and timber. These materials can weaken.
Mortar can crumble.
Foundations can shift. Without regular maintenance, a building that stood for decades can fail in seconds.
Fez is the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region.
It is a cultural and economic hub. Its architecture blends Arab and Islamic influences. Tourists and scholars come to see that blend.
They come for the historic buildings and landmarks. Now, those same landmarks raise a hard question: how many are safe?
The city’s authorities will have to provide support to the victims’ families.
They will also have to face the broader issue of building safety. Many older buildings in Fez and other Moroccan cities may be at similar risk.
The report says so plainly. That is not alarmism. That is a logical conclusion drawn from the facts at hand.
The cause of the collapse is not yet known.
It could be a specific defect. It could be a combination of factors — age, neglect, weather, or something else.
The investigation will determine that.
But the investigation will not change the underlying reality. Fez has a large stock of old buildings.
Some of those buildings are built with methods that do not meet modern safety standards.
Some have not been inspected or reinforced. Some are simply old. Twenty-two people are dead.
Several more are injured. Those numbers will rise or hold as rescue efforts continue.
The people of Fez are now coming to terms with what happened.
The city’s authorities are working to support them. But support after the fact is not the same as prevention before it.
The collapse happened on December 10, 2025. It happened in a city of 1.256 million people. It happened in a place where traditional construction is common.
Those three facts together tell a story that goes beyond one tragic day.
They tell a story about infrastructure, about aging stock, about the gap between historic charm and modern safety. That gap cost 22 lives.
The question now is whether it will cost more.
