1856 Heraklion earthquake

Earthquake affecting the Ottoman Empire (present-day Crete, Greece) 1856 Heraklion earthquake 2 minutes 35.5 26.0 inline, title #Greece #Mediterranean 1856-10-12 00:45 11–12 October 1856 02:38 am or 02:45 am EET 61–100 km 7.7–8.3 w yes Intraplate Mediterranean Sea Greece Malta Sicily Anatolia Cyprus Egypt Palestine 11–XII Unlikely Yes 600+ dead600+ injured yes The 1856 Heraklion earthquake, also known as the Crete earthquake or Rhodes earthquake, occurred on the morning of October 12 at 02:45 am local time.Y. Altinok B. Alpar N. Özer C. Gazioglu 2005 1881 and 1949 earthquakes at the Chios-Cesme Strait (Aegean Sea) and their relation to tsunamis https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00299270/document Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Copernicus Publications s on behalf of the European Geosciences Union 5 5 717–725 10.5194/nhess-5-717-2005 2005NHESS...5..717A 14989944 free This extremely catastrophic earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.7 to 8.3 at a depth of approximately 61 to 100 km.Seismicity Catalog (550 B.C. – 2010) http://geophysics.geo.auth.gr/the_seisnet/WEBSITE_2005/station_index_en.html 4 January 2021 Seismological Station Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 21 March 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080321121735/http://geophysics.geo.auth.gr/the_seisnet/WEBSITE_2005/station_index_en.html dead The earthquake was felt over a very wide area extending from Sicily, Italy to the Levant and North Africa.Papadopoulos, Gerassimos Vassilopoulos, A. Tsunami Research at the End of a Critical Decade Kluwer 2001 978-90-481-5909-3 119–183 Historical and Archaeological Evidence of Earthquakes and Tsunamis Felt in the Kythira Strait, Greece. On the Greek island of Crete, the effects of the earthquake were cataclysmic, over 500 bodies were recovered in the city of Heraklion. Shockwaves from the earthquake were felt intensely, covering all of the Ottoman Empire; present-day Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East where damage and human losses were reported. In Malta, the Għajn Ħadid Tower—a coastal watchtower built around the year 1638—was severely damaged in the earthquake, when its upper floor collapsed. In Cairo, Egypt, the earthquake destroyed buildings, created seiches in canals, and killed several people. Off the Egyptian and Italian coasts, sailors reported feeling a seaquake.G. A. Papadopoulos E. Daskalaki A. Fokaefs N. Giraleas Tsunami hazard in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: Strong earthquakes and tsunamis in the west Hellenic Arc and Trench system http://www.seahellarc.gr/files/20091123154851Papadopoulos_et_al.JET.pdf Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami 2021-01-04 2016-03-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001548/http://www.seahellarc.gr/files/20091123154851Papadopoulos_et_al.JET.pdf dead Tectonic background Along the southern coast of the Dodecanese Islands, Rhodes, Crete and the Ionian Islands, the African plate made of oceanic crust is subducting beneath the Aegean Sea plate (part of the Eurasian plate) along a convergent plate boundary at a rate of 5 to 10 mm/yr. The interface of the subduction zone occasionally ruptures in large megathrust earthquakes such as those in 365 and 1303. Tsunamis are produced along the Hellenic Trench as one side of the fault is suddenly thrust upwards, displacing trillions of liters of seawater during a massive earthquake. Earthquake The Heraklion earthquake of 1856 was an intermediate-depth earthquake with a hypocenter depth of 60 to 90 km, occurring on a fault within the subducting African plate.Papazachos, B. 1996 Large seismic faults in the Hellenic arc Annals of Geophysics 39 5 10.4401/ag-4023 free The epicenter is most likely located off the northern coast of Crete, based on evaluating where the strongest isoseismic contours were. For a moment magnitude 7.7 (w) event, the estimated fault dimensions is 64 km × 64 km at a depth of 90 km beneath the Aegean Sea while an 8.1–8.3 wwould involve a 120 km × 120 km fault rupture at a deeper depth of 130 km.Kkallas, Charalampos C. Papazachos A. Skarlatoudis Chrysanthi, Ventouzi D. Boore B. Margaris. 2018 Explaining the large anomalous damage patterns of large (M7+) intermediate-depth earthquakes in the southern Aegean Sea https://www.daveboore.com/pubs_online/16eceE_KKALLAS_final2.pdf 16th European Conference on: Earthquake Engineering Thessaloniki Effects The earthquake caused widespread damage not just in Greece, but in the Middle East and North Africa, where additional deaths and damage was reported. An exact time of occurrence is still debated between 02:38 am or 02:45 am.Zohar, M. 2017 A newly discovered historical earthquake or merely a chronological mistake? Report of Mary Eliza Rogers from October 10, 1856 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10950-017-9686-9 Journal of Seismology 21 5 1285–1290 10.1007/s10950-017-9686-9 2017JSeis..21.1285Z 135012529 subscription Greece The earthquake reached XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale in the central part of Crete. The city of Heraklion was almost destroyed, with only 18 or 40 of the 3,600 houses left standing. The seaside cities of Sitia and Chania were also severely damaged. A total of 538 inhabitants of Crete were killed while 637 persons were injured. On the island of Rhodes, several villages were destroyed and the coast experienced uplift. Ground failures were widely observed amidst the destruction. Sixty people died on the island. The island of Thera also reported some damage.Significant Earthquake Database https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/2005 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA 10.7289/V5TD9V7K 1972 Data Set In Kasos and Karpathos, 8,000 homes were wiped-out, and there were 20 deaths.Simon Jusseret Manuel Sintubin https://books.google.com/books?id=_JInDwAAQBAJ&q=Cairo+earthquake+1856&pg=PA179 Earthquakes and Minoan Crete: breaking the myth through interdisciplinarity 9 June 2017 Leuven University Press Leuven Belgium 178–180 9789462701052 On mainland Greece, the earthquake was felt in the cities of Ioannina and Kyparissia. Malta thumb|250x250px|Ruins of the Għajn Ħadid Tower after the earthquake. In the Maltese Islands, the earthquake was felt much stronger than most earthquakes from Greece when felt on the islands, making this very unusual and of interest to many seismologists. The quake disrupted the night and woke everyone on the island. The shaking lasted between 22 and 60 seconds, causing many residents to lose their balance and threw down many items in houses. Large cracks developed in the homes of some places such as Valletta and Gozo Region.Grech Herman 2009 We cannot be complacent about earthquakes – expert Times of Malta https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/we-cannot-be-complacent-about-earthquakes-expert.252515 6 January 2021 Many churches had cracks in the walls and domes and had hanging crucifixes falling off. In some cases, the damage was more serious, some churches experiencing a total collapse. The dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral in Mdina collapsed from the inside, which caused some £1,000 in damage.Galea Pauline 2007 Seismic history of the Maltese islands and considerations on seismic risk https://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/viewFile/3053/3096 Annals of Geophysics 50 6 Another church, the Carmelite Church, had its steeple rebuilt because the earthquake had damaged it so severely. Damage to structures corresponded to intensity VII, higher than expected for the 1,000 km distance from the earthquake in Greece. A typical earthquake should only be felt with intensities IV–V. The occurrence of very strong shaking is likely attributed to long period ground motion.Pauline Galea Seismic history of the Maltese islands and considerations on seismic risk Annals of Geophysics December 2007 50 6 University of Malta It was this earthquake that collapsed the Għajn Ħadid Tower.Iannucci, R. Martino, S. Paciello, A. Investigation of cliff instability at Għajn Ħadid Tower (Selmun Promontory, Malta) by integrated passive seismic techniques Journal of Seismology 2020 24 4 897–916 10.1007/s10950-019-09898-z 2020JSeis..24..897I 209672820 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10950-019-09898-z 16 April 2021 subscription An eyewitness present at the tower one month before the earthquake said large cracks opened in the ground around the tower.Simon Mifsud Għajn Ħadid Tower and Aħrax Tower http://www.militaryarchitecture.com:80/index.php/Fortifications/ghajn-hadid-tower-and-ahrax-tower.html MilitaryArchitecture.com 16 April 2021 Egypt In Cairo, the shaking was still perceivable and strong enough to cause damage. Shaking intensity in the Egyptian capital reached VII–VIII. Three distinct shocks were felt with durations between one and two minutes. Twenty homes collapsed and another 200 were affected, while some 20 mosques were also crippled. Seiches in canals caused water to splash all over while clocks stopped working as a result of the ground motions. At least ten people died in the city. Following the aftermath, many survivors slept outside their homes for fear of a collapse during the night for several days.Badawy, A. Korrat, I. El-Hadidy, M. 2017 Update earthquake risk assessment in Cairo, Egypt https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10950-016-9621-5 J Seismol 21 4 571–589 10.1007/s10950-016-9621-5 2017JSeis..21..571B 133402193 subscriptionEarthquakes in Malta https://vassallohistory.wordpress.com/earthquakes-in-malta/ 4 January 2021 Maltese History & Heritage 25 January 2013 In Alexandria, only some old construction fell but there were no major implications to the city. Two people were killed and some injuries were sustained to people. Around the Nile Delta, collapses of homes and falling minarets killed an additional number of people in the towns of Tanta and Damanhur.Simon Jusseret and Manuel Sintubin 2013 The Origins of an Old Myth: Sir Arthur Evans, Claude Schaeffer and the Seismic Destruction of Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean Civilizations https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/srl/article-abstract/84/1/94/144109/The-Origins-of-an-Old-Myth-Sir-Arthur-Evans-Claude?redirectedFrom=fulltext Seismological Research Letters 84 1 94–100 10.1785/0220120098 2013SeiRL..84...94J 110029713 subscription In other parts of the delta, many residents found it difficult to stand, which terrified many. Ground motions were strong enough to shift furniture and cause water in tanks to slosh around. Sailors off the coasts reported feeling the strong earthquake as well.1994 The Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A Historical Review https://books.google.com/books?id=fxnnk2inWT0C&q=The+Seismicity+of+Egypt,+Arabia+and+the+Red+Sea:+A+Historical+Review Cambridge University Press 9780521020251N. N. Ambraseys C. P. Melville R. D. Adams https://books.google.com/books?id=fxnnk2inWT0C&q=The+Seismicity+of+Egypt,+Arabia+and+the+Red+Sea:+A+Historical+Review The Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A Historical Review Cambridge University Press 1994 9780511524912 London 69–70 10.1017/CBO9780511524912 Elsewhere Shaking was also felt in Syracuse and Pozzallo, Sicily, Italy where some minor damage occurred. The shock also caused damage to places like Syria and Palestine. Eyewitnesses along the coasts of Haifa and Lebanon reported a small "tsunami" wave. Effects from the earthquake was felt in the entire Adriatic Sea region and Cyprus. Legacy In the book Domestic Life in Palestine, author Mary Eliza Rogers described her experience of the strong tremors in Haifa, Israel but she dated the event incorrectly between the night of 10 and 11 October. See also List of earthquakes in Greece List of earthquakes in Turkey List of earthquakes in Egypt Seismic risk in Malta References Category:1856 earthquakes Category:1850s disasters in Europe Category:1856 in Greece Category:1856 in the Ottoman Empire Category:1850s disasters in Asia Category:1856 disasters in Africa Category:19th-century disasters in the Ottoman Empire Category:October 1856 Category:Earthquakes in Greece Category:Earthquakes in Europe Category:Natural disasters in Malta Category:Earthquakes in Turkey Category:Earthquakes in the Middle East Category:Earthquakes in Egypt Category:Earthquakes in Israel Category:Earthquakes in Palestine Category:Earthquakes in Syria Category:Earthquakes in the Levant Category:Earthquakes in Crete Category:Heraklion