1953 Ionian earthquake

Extreme earthquake in the Greek Ionian Islands 1953 Ionian earthquake KefaloniaAerealWe.jpg Aerial view of destruction in Kefalonia Greece 1953-08-12 09:23:55 891904 iscgem891904 1953 08 12 11:23:55 6.8 w y ISC 10 km mi 0 on 38.18 20.94 region:GR_type:event inline,title Greece 10 6.3 w ISC Aug 9 at 07:41 6.5 w ISC Aug 11 at 03:32 6.2 w ISC Aug 12 at 12:05 445–800 1953 Ionian earthquake.jpg The 1953 Ionian earthquake (also known as the Great Kefalonia earthquake) struck the southern Ionian Islands in Greece on August 12. In mid-August, there were over 113 recorded earthquakes in the region between Kefalonia and Zakynthos, and the most destructive was the August 12 earthquake. The event measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale, raised the whole island of Kefalonia by 60 cm on, and caused widespread damage throughout the islands of Kefalonia and Zakynthos.Odysseus Unbound: The Search for Homer's Ithaca https://archive.org/details/odysseusunbounds00bitt Robert Bittlestone 2005 Cambridge University Press 978-0521853576 registration The maximum felt intensity of shaking was X (extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Between 445 and 800 people were killed.https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/4029 Significant Earthquake Information National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 1972 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information 10.7289/V5TD9V7K March 22, 2024 Earthquake Hellenic arc The earthquake struck at 09:23:55 (UTC) or 11:23:55 (local time); The USS Salem was the first vessel to arrive with humanitarian help, as it was on patrol in the area. Not long after the Royal Navy vessels HMS Gambia and HMS Bermuda arrived on the scene. In addition, four Israeli warships received calls for help coming from the island of Kefalonia and the ships headed to the island. The sailors provided emergency medical aid, food, and water. This was the first time Israel provided aid to a disaster-stricken area. Although known as the "Great Kefalonia earthquake", damage was very heavy in Zakynthos' eponymous capital city. Only two buildings survived there; the rest of the island's capital had to be rebuilt. Argostoli, the capital of Kefalonia, suffered substantial damage and all of Kefalonia's buildings were flattened except for those in Fiskardo in the far north. Damage thumb|Damage still present in 2011 As well as causing major destruction on the two islands, the economic impact was far greater, and damage was estimated to have totaled billions of drachmas. Many people fled the island: some people temporarily moved to the capital, however the majority emigrated out of Greece entirely to countries such as Canada, USA, Australia or the UK, leaving both the islands and their economy in ruins. On November 15, 1953, The Greek state issued a special set of 2 stamps dedicated to the earthquake. One stamp was of 300 drachmas value depicting the collapsing bell tower of the Faneromeni Church at Zakynthos. The other stamp, denominated at 500 drachmas, showed the damage to the famous De Bosset stone bridge at the Argostoli bay. The stamp set was issued in order to support financially the earthquake fund for the relief of those who had suffered.el:Ερμής 2017: Γραμματόσημα Ελλάδος 1861-2016 και ταχυδρομική ιστορία Hermes 2017: Stamps of Greece 1861-2016 and Postal History 163 Philatelic Hermes Athens 2016 el1953. Στα Ιόνια νησιά Χανώτικα Νέα Chania http://www.haniotika-nea.gr/1953-sta-ionia-nisia/ 2018-11-12 2014-02-11 el An Italian mission of the National Fire and rescue Services (Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del Fuoco) was sent to help people and save heritage artifacts. thumb|An Officer of the Italian National Fire and rescue Services (Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del Fuoco) and an icon of St. Mary and Child recovered from a collapsed church in Zante after the 1953 earthquake. Credits: CNVVF – Centro Documentazione Aftermath Earthquakes still regularly affect the islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia, including several 2006 earthquakes in Zakynthos and others in 2003 and 2005. There were also several large earthquakes on January 26 and February 3, 2014, measuring 6.1 and 6.0 on the Richter scale. The epicenters of both were in Kefalonia at very shallow depths and caused damage in the island. On October 25, 2018, there was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast that damaged parts of the Zante port docks. Following that quake, there were more than 50 additional quakes over 4 magnitude in the Ionian Sea between the 25th and the end of October.USGS Recent Earthquakes https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/#%7B%22autoUpdate%22%3A%5B%22autoUpdate%22%5D%2C%22basemap%22%3A%22grayscale%22%2C%22feed%22%3A%227day_m45%22%2C%22listFormat%22%3A%22default%22%2C%22mapposition%22%3A%5B%5B-71.18775391813158%2C33.75%5D%2C%5B71.18775391813158%2C401.484375%5D%5D%2C%22overlays%22%3A%5B%22plates%22%5D%2C%22restrictListToMap%22%3A%5B%22restrictListToMap%22%5D%2C%22search%22%3Anull%2C%22sort%22%3A%22newest%22%2C%22timezone%22%3A%22utc%22%2C%22viewModes%22%3A%5B%22list%22%2C%22map%22%5D%2C%22event%22%3A%22us1000hirk%22%7D October 29, 2018 United States Geological Survey See also List of earthquakes in 1953 List of earthquakes in Greece References PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/ United States Geological Survey September 4, 2009 Version 2008_06.1 Further reading Large seismic faults in the Hellenic Arc http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/1706/1/01%20papazachos.pdf B.C. Papazachos 1996 Annali di Geofisica 39 5 891–903 2009-07-07 2011-07-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20110718173826/http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/1706/1/01%20papazachos.pdf dead The 1953 earthquake in Cephalonia (Western Hellenic Arc): Coastal uplift and halotectonic faulting Geophysical Journal International 117 3 834–849 1994 Stiros S. C Pirazzoli P. A. Laborel J. Laborel-Deguen F. 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1994.tb02474.x 1994GeoJI.117..834S free External links 891904 The earthquake of Kefalonia in 1953 – Natural History Museum of Crete Ionian Earthquake, 1953 Category:Earthquakes in Greece Category:Earthquake clusters, swarms, and sequences Ionian Earthquake, 1953 Category:History of Cephalonia Category:August 1953 in Europe Category:1953 disasters in Greece