1491 Cyprus earthquake

April 2024 The 1491 Cyprus earthquake occurred on 24 April 1491, and resulted in extensive damage across the island of Cyprus and some limited damage in the Levant. Epicentre and geology The precise epicenter of the earthquake remains unknown. Nicholas Ambraseys wrote that the epicenter was probably located in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea between the coasts of Cyprus and Syria.Ambraseys Nicholas Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East: A Multidisciplinary Study of Seismicity up to 1900 2009 Cambridge University Press 9781139195430 407–411 Papazachos and Papaioannou, on the other hand, state that the 1491 earthquake is only one of the two earthquakes (the other being in 1718) that had an epicentre within the island of Cyprus, and this was most likely in the Mesaoria plain. They state that the plain may constitute a graben that is associated with normal faults, which would have produced the earthquake.Papazachos B. C Papaioannou Ch. A Lithospheric boundaries and plate motions in the Cyprus area Tectonophysics 10 July 1999 308 1 193–204 10.1016/S0040-1951(99)00075-X 1999Tectp.308..193P https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004019519900075X en 0040-1951 subscription According to the Cyprus Geological Survey Department, the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale and an intensity of VIII-IX on the Mercalli scale.Petrou Margarita L. Dimos C. Charmpis A STUDY OF THE HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF BELL TOWERS IN CYPRUS https://www.scipedia.com/wd/images/d/d3/Draft_Content_882619926p786.pdf 12th International Conference on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions 2020 2023-03-03 2022-02-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20220210044536/https://www.scipedia.com/wd/images/d/d3/Draft_Content_882619926p786.pdf live Damage The earthquake caused widespread damage particularly along the eastern coast of Cyprus as well as the Mesaoria plain, including the capital city of Nicosia. In 'badly-built' city of Nicosia, chroniclers state that 4,000 buildings were destroyed during the earthquake. The primary sources disagree on the loss of life in the city, with some stating that there was no loss of life, but another source stating that 1,000 people died. References 35.148 34.527 type:event_globe:earth_region:CY title Category:15th-century earthquakes Category:Earthquakes in Cyprus Category:1491 in Europe Category:15th century in Cyprus Category:15th century in the Republic of Venice