1954 Chlef earthquake

Earthquake of the coast of Algeria September 2024 1954 Chlef earthquake 1954-09-09 01:04:43 891046 iscgem891046 1954 09 09 y 02:04:43 Algeria 6.7 w y 15 km on 36.27 N 1.59 E region:DZ_type:event inline,title Dip-slip El Asnam Province French Algeria $6 million 11 0.33 m on 1,243–1,409 dead 5,000 injured 1954 Chlef earthquake.jpg The 1954 Chlef earthquake struck El Asnam Province in French Algeria on 9 September at 02:04:43 local time 01:04:43 UTC. The shock measured 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). It destroyed Chlef, then named Orléansville, leaving over 1,243 people dead and 5,000 injured. Damage was estimated at $6 million. It was followed by multiple aftershocks. Algeria faces annual earthquakes and has undergone several changes to its earthquake building codes since its first earthquake engineering regulations from 1717. Geology Powerful earthquakes strike Algeria annually, ranging in Mercalli intensity scale intensity from VI (Strong) to XI (Extreme). Chlef was hit by another major earthquake in 1980 which killed 3,500 people. The Atlas Mountains area faces aseismic deformation (change in shape not originating from movement of faults), with only marginal plate shifting each year.http://qjegh.lyellcollection.org/content/14/2/143.abstract Ambraseys, N.N. Nicholas Ambraseys The El Asnam (Algeria) earthquake of 10 October 1980; conclusions drawn from a field study Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology Geological Society of London 1981 14 2 143–148 6 September 2013 10.1144/GSL.QJEG.1981.014.02.05 140701882 28 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160828103819/http://qjegh.lyellcollection.org/content/14/2/143.abstract live subscription Both Chlef earthquakes originated from the same reverse fault zone.http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/81/2/446.abstract Dewey James W. 81 2 446 1991 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America The 1954 and 1980 Algerian earthquakes: Implications for the characteristic-displacement model of fault behavior 1991BuSSA..81..446D 8 September 2013 21 October 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161021203019/http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/81/2/446.abstract live The 1954 earthquake measured 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale according to the International Seismological Centre and had a depth of 15 km on. There is evidence of crustal shortening along a NW-SE trend near the epicenter, but the structure of any faults is poorly understood.El-Robrini, Gennesseaux, and Mauffret, pg 171. Because Algeria has a thin shelf and a steep coastal slope, submarine landslides are quite common, especially during earthquakes.El-Robrini, Gennesseaux, and Mauffret, pgs 171–2. During the 1954 earthquake, five underwater telephone cables in the Mediterranean Sea were cut by an avalanche, three recording the exact time of impact. Damage and casualties Shaking extended west to Mostaganem, south to Tiaret, and east to Tizi Ouzou, and many aftershocks followed the earthquake, including a major tremor at 22:18 UTC on 16 September which further damaged Orleansville.https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/world_deaths.php Earthquakes with 1,000 or More Deaths Since 1900 30 November 2012 6 September 2013 United States Geological Survey dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130114225331/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/world_deaths.php 14 January 2013 The main shock ruptured 16 km on of rock, ripping faults and creating visible fissures in the ground along the Dahra Massif. Survivors described a sensation of rotating along an axis and that the rubble reminded them of "bombed cities in Europe."1954:Algerian Earthquake: In Our Pages: 100, 75 And 50 Years Ago 10 September 2004 The New York Times The United States Geological Survey lists the 1954 quake among the deadliest earthquakes in history.https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?month=9&day=9&submit=View+Date Today in Earthquake History: September 9 2 October 2012 6 September 2013 United States Geological Survey 14 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201114210810/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?month=9&day=9&submit=View+Date live Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that it was the worst earthquake in North African history. Aftermath The French Army on the spot largely participated in the relief and triggered the first airlift aeromedical evacuation in Africa. Bell 47G helicopters, three Amiot AAC.1 Toucan and two Douglas DC-3 evacuated 396 victims, including 147 on the first day, avoiding any traffic jams on site.Ollivier et Monjauze, « Le service de santé de l’Air en Algérie », Regards sur la France, no 7 « Le service de santé des armées en Algérie 1830-1958, numéro spécial », octobre-novembre 1958, p. 257-264. Orléansville was devastated by the earthquake; a fifth of it wholly destroyed,https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/10/archives/800-feared-dead-in-algeria-quake-tremor-rocks-50mile-area-catching.html 800 Feared Dead in Algeria Quake; Tremor Rocks 50-Mile Area, Catching People Asleep The New York Times 10 September 1954 6 September 2013 18 June 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220618135549/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/10/archives/800-feared-dead-in-algeria-quake-tremor-rocks-50mile-area-catching.html live it was rebuilt and renamed El Asnam and later Chlef. While Algeria had set earthquake resistance regulations as early as 1717, it was the 1954 earthquake that ushered in fully comprehensive reforms for seismic-resistant design.International Handbook of Earthquake Engineering: Codes, Programs, and Examples Paz, Mario 1994 Springer 978-0412982118 57 See also List of earthquakes in 1954 List of earthquakes in Algeria References ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009) http://www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php ISC 2015 International Seismological Centre Version 2.0 30 December 2015 25 November 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161125091901/http://www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php live Significant Earthquake Database https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA 10.7289/V5TD9V7K 1972 Data Set 30 December 2015 21 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170721203405/https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1 dead PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/PAGER_CAT_2008_06.1.zip 4 September 2009 United States Geological Survey Version 2008_06.1 21 May 2024 18 April 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220418033518/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/PAGER_CAT_2008_06.1.zip live Sources El-Robrini M. Gennesseaux M. Mauffret A. Consequences of the El-Asnam earthquakes: Turbidity currents and slumps on the Algerian margin (Western Mediterranean) Geo-Marine Letters 1985 5 3 171–176 10.1007/BF02281635 1985GML.....5..171E 129874657 External links 891046 Category:1954 disasters in Algeria Category:1954 earthquakes Category:September 1954 in Africa 1954 Category:History of Chlef Province Category:1950s tsunamis Category:Tsunamis in Algeria