2004 Les Saintes earthquake

Earthquake affecting Guadeloupe and Dominica, Leeward Islands January 2023 January 2023 2004 Les Saintes earthquake Lesser Antilles#Middle America 2004-11-21 11:41:07 7439677 iscgem7439677 2004 11 21 07:41:07 6.3 w y 13 km mi 0 on 15.68 -61.7 region:FR-GUA_type:event inline,title Roseau Fault Oblique-normal Moderate 8 0.21 g 2 m ft on 5.8 w y Feb 14, 2005 1 dead, 13 injured 40 displaced The 2004 Les Saintes earthquake occurred at 07:41:07 local time 11:41:07 UTC on November 21, 2004, with a moment magnitude of 6.3 and maximum European macroseismic intensity of VIII (Heavily damaging). The shock was named for Îles des Saintes "Island of the Saints", a group of small islands to the south of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas department of France. Although it occurred near the Lesser Antilles subduction zone, this was an intraplate, normal fault event. It resulted in one death, 13 injuries, and 40 people being made homeless, but the overall damage was considered moderate. A small, nondestructive tsunami was reported, but run-up and inundation distances were difficult to measure due to a storm that occurred on the day of the event. Unusual effects at a volcanic lake on Dominica were also documented, and an aftershock caused additional damage three months later. Tectonic setting Volcanic arc While the northern and southern boundaries of the Caribbean plate are complex and diffuse, with zones of seismicity stretching several hundred kilometers across, the eastern boundary is that of the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. This 850 km on long subduction zone lacks a uniform curve and has an average dip of 50–60°. The largest known earthquake on the plate interface was a M7.5–8.0 event in 1843, but it did not generate a large tsunami. In opposition, the three largest events between 1950 and 1978 were intraplate normal faulting events.Active Faults of the World https://books.google.com/books?id=aQUgAwAAQBAJ Yeats R. 2012 Cambridge University Press 978-0521190855 146–148, 159–161 2018-01-11 2019-11-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20191122014514/https://books.google.com/books?id=aQUgAwAAQBAJ live Earthquake Back-arc region thumb|USGS ShakeMap for the event|alt=Map of the epicenter region illustrating seismic intensity The mainshock and the primary aftershock occurred on the previously mapped Roseau Fault, a 15 km on, northeast-dipping normal fault that forms the western portion of the northwest-trending Les Saintes channel graben within the overriding North American plate. Late 1990s bathymetric studies showed that it had vertical fault scarps approaching 120 m on. The type of slip was primarily extensional, but included a small amount of left-lateral slip, and may have contributed to hydrological/volcanic effects that were observed on the island of Dominica, where a flooded fumarole drained twice.The Mw = 6.3, November 21, 2004, Les Saintes earthquake (Guadeloupe): Tectonic setting, slip model and static stress changes https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00650262/file/Feuillet_et_al-2011-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Solid_Earth_%281978-2012%29.pdf N. Feuillet F. Beauducel E. Jacques P. Tapponnier B. Delouis S. Bazin M. Vallée G. C. P. King 2011 Journal of Geophysical Research 116 B10 10.1029/2011JB008310 1, 2, 5, 7, 18 2011JGRB..11610301F 10356/95660 53952857 November 26, 2018 November 26, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181126181111/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00650262/file/Feuillet_et_al-2011-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Solid_Earth_%281978-2012%29.pdf live Damage A maximum intensity of VIII (Heavily damaging) on the European macroseismic scale was recorded at Terre-de-Haut, where some serious damage occurred to a school, a church, and some homes near the sugar loaf. The same intensity was observed at Terre-de-Bas, where damage was moderate and non-structural in nature. At Petite-Anse, a small area contained some damaged walls, but no complete collapses occurred. At Grand-Bourg on the island of Marie-Galante (where the intensity was deemed to be VI–VII (Slightly damaging–Damaging)) the town hall, a church, and a college were red-tagged (unsuitable for use). The same intensity was assigned to the nearby commune of Saint-Louis, where the newly built town hall had visible cracks and the church was closed due to the potential of aftershocks breaking stained glass windows.Synthèse de la crise sismique des Saintes (Guadeloupe) entre le 21 novembre 2004 et le 30 mars 2005 http://www.planseisme.fr/IMG/pdf/RP-54401-FR.pdf D. Bertil S. Bes de Berc J. Douglas 2005 BRGM/RP-54401-FR Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières 41–44, 127–163 2016-07-04 2008-11-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20081120153640/http://www.planseisme.fr/IMG/pdf/RP-54401-FR.pdf live fr Boiling Lake Boiling Lake In the weeks following the mainshock, no abnormal geochemical or seismic activity was observed at La Grande Soufrière (an active stratovolcano) on Guadeloupe, but on southern Dominica near the Valley of Desolation, a flooded fumarole known as Boiling Lake was discovered empty by tourists on Christmas Day. The 10 - 15 m on deep lake lies in an active geothermal area and is normally stable in terms of temperature (80 - 90 C on) and water level. By mid-February, the lake was full again, but its temperature had not returned to normal. The water level dropped again following the M5.8 aftershock on February 14. Aftershocks By mid-February, aftershock activity had essentially ceased, with events becoming increasingly far apart. On February 14, a strong and slightly damaging aftershock occurred. This was also a normal slip event that occurred about 7 km on northwest of the November 21 mainshock. The damage was minimal, with cracks developing on the roads, some broken water pipes, and wall and roof damage—including at some locations that were damaged during the mainshock. Tsunami A small tsunami took place following the shock, and while no tide gauges captured the event, scientists were on scene several days later to investigate. A large storm occurred on the day of the event, and this might have prevented visual observation of the tsunami, but witnesses on Guadeloupe reported the sea level dropped "a few" to as many as 50 cm on. At Anse des Mûriers on Îles des Saintes, a ship captain reported that three minutes after the earthquake the sea dropped about 80 cm on and also receded from the coast about 5 m on. In Anse Rodrigue, the tsunami had a run-in distance of 42 m on. Investigators documented a 50 cm on run-up at Anse Pajot, but these findings were difficult to distinguish from the storm surge.The earthquake and tsunami of November 21, 2004 at Les Saintes, Gaudeloupe, Lesser Antilles http://tsunamisociety.org/231pel.pdf N. Zahibo E. Pelinovsky E. Okal A. Yalçiner C. Kharif T. Talipova A. Kozelkov 2005 Science of Tsunami Hazards 23 1 31–37 July 4, 2016 August 9, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170809020747/http://tsunamisociety.org/231pel.pdf live A maximum run-up of 2 m ft on was recorded at Grande-Anse beach and L'anse Rodrigue on Terre-de-Haut Island, and on Grande-Anse Terre-de-Bas Island. The tsunami was recorded as far as 30 km on from the epicenter, at Capesterre-Belle-Eau.Cordrie L. Gailler A. Escartin J. Feuillet N. Heinrich P. Simulation of the 2004 tsunami of Les Saintes in Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles) using new source constraints Natural Hazards 2020 103 2 2103–2129 10.1007/s11069-020-04073-x 2020NatHa.103.2103C 220327251 See also Geography of Dominica Lesser Antilles List of earthquakes in 2004 List of earthquakes in the Caribbean References Inferred ground motions on Guadeloupe during the 2004 Les Saintes earthquake https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00557615/file/lessaintesrevised.pdf J. Douglas 2007 Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering 5 3 10.1007/s10518-007-9037-2 365 2007BuEE....5..363D 128897001 2018-11-26 2018-11-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20181126181035/https://hal-brgm.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00557615/file/lessaintesrevised.pdf live ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2012) http://www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php ISC 2016 International Seismological Centre Version 3.0 2016-07-03 2016-11-25 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 2016-07-04 2019-12-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20191215220609/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/ September 4, 2009 United States Geological Survey Version 2008_06.1 November 26, 2018 July 17, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200717083128/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/ live Further reading Hughes A. Escartín J. Billant J. Leclerc F. Andreani M. Olive J.-A. Arnaubec A. Dano A. Delorme A. Deplus C. Feuillet N. Gini C. Gracias N. Hamelin C. Istenič K. Komorowski Jean-C. Le Friant A. Marchand C. Mével C. Onstad S. L. Quidelleur X. Seafloor earthquake ruptures and mass wasting from the 2004 Mw 6.3 Les Saintes submarine earthquake Communications Earth & Environment 4 1 2023 270 2662-4435 10.1038/s43247-023-00919-x 2023ComEE...4..270H 260106616 free External links M6.3 – Dominica region, Leeward Islands – United States Geological Survey 7439677 Category:2004 earthquakes Category:2004 tsunamis Category:2004 in the Caribbean Category:2004 in Guadeloupe Category:November 2004 in North America Category:Natural disasters in Guadeloupe Category:Earthquakes in the Caribbean Category:Natural disasters in Dominica