From: <a href="http://www.aftenposten.no/spesial/wikileaksdokumenter/article3972806.ece">Aftenposten</a><br>
Date: 26.05.2006: 
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UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000571 
SIPDIS

SIPDIS 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, CACS, ZH, ZT, MO 
SUBJECT: Tsunami Destroys Casablanca - Next Thursday 

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Out of All the Cities in All the World... 
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1. (U)
On Monday afternoon, May 22, 2006, hundreds of Moroccan
children returned home from school with a dire prediction that
a giant tsunami would strike Casablanca in a mere three days.
Some schools threatened closures and word of the disaster
washed over the city sending people scurrying to find more
information and seek higher ground. A few wealthy, educated
expats fled their palatial homes by the sea to find refugee in
the high-rise dwellings of friends well above the predicted
level of destruction. Less fortunate Moroccans, meanwhile,
could be found heading to mosques to pray for protection
against the storm, images of Indian Ocean tsunami still fresh
in their minds. Moroccan National Press reported some
Moroccans were packed and ready to head to the mountains or
even travel to other countries. Consulate Casablanca´s
Consular Section received numerous emails and phone calls
requesting information on the impending doom as well.

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He Had to Blog Into Mine... 
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2. (U)
The tsunami prediction originated with French author and UFO
"kidnapping victim" Eric Julien, director of the Ufological
Research Center. Julian claimed he had received information
psychically that a comet fragment would crash into the
Atlantic Ocean on May 25, 2006, and cause a giant tsunami. He
asserted that the waves would be up to 200

SIPDIS 

meters high and impact all countries bordering the Atlantic.
In Morocco, Julien´s forcast was taken so seriously that the
head of the Moroccan Meteorological office, Mustapha Janah
made an official statement to the Moroccan press denying the
possibility of the tsunami and quoting "NASA" officials who
noted that the comet in question would be approximately ten
million kilometers away when it passed the earth.

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Maybe not Today, Maybe not Tomorrow... 
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3. (U)
Why did the rumor spread so quickly and why was it taken so
seriously? According to some Moroccans, the answer may be
twofold. First, Morocco is a land of oral history where word
of mouth has been the preferred method of communicating news
for generations. With literacy rates hovering around fifty
percent, gossip is a more common method of disseminating
information than the newspapers. Second, for the very
religious of Casablanca the idea that a giant wave would sweep
through the city and wash it "clean of evil and vice" is not
such a stretch of the imagination. Historically, images of
floods sweeping away the sinners of the world have peppered
religious doctrine and some here believe Casablanca may be
overdue for a cleansing.

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Here´s Lookin´ at You Casa... 
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4. (U)
We can confirm nearly twenty-four hours after the predicted
tidal wave, Casablanca has been left unscathed. Despite a few
nervous moments during the week when the sky darkened and the
surf increased slightly, Casablanca remains intact.

GREENE
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