The southern part of Cuba was struck by a major earthquake on 12 June 1766 at midnight local time. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.8 Ms and a maximum felt intensity of IX (destructive) on the MSK scale. Its epicenter was offshore, near Santiago de Cuba, with a focal depth of 25 km. Santiago de Cuba suffered the worst damage, although large areas of Cuba were affected. It was felt in both Havana (800 km) and on Jamaica (140 km). Between 34 and 40 people died and a further 700 were injured. [1]
The southernmost coast of Cuba lies adjacent to the southern margin of the North American plate. This boundary is a major left lateral (sinistral) transform fault, the Septentrional-Oriente fault zone, where the North American plate is moving westwards relative to the Gonâve Microplate at a rate of between 6 and 11 mm per year. [2] This fault zone forms the most seismically active part of Cuba. [1]
The earthquake struck at midnight and lasted for between one and a half and seven minutes. From the observed seismic intensities, the epicenter is likely to have been offshore, although its precise location is unknown. The mainshock was followed by a series of aftershocks, that continued for a further 66 days. From its estimated location, it is interpreted to have been caused by rupture of the Septentrional-Oriente fault zone. [1]
The intensity of shaking was at a maximum at Morro Castle and La Socapa Fort, with an estimated value of IX (Destructive), due to their proximity to the epicentre and the presence of thick alluvial deposits. Levels of VIII (Damaging) were reached in the cities of Santiago de Cuba and Bayamo. Morro Castle and La Socapa Fort were destroyed as were the hospital and the governor's house. Santiago de Cuba's cathedral was damaged. The earthquake is recorded to have caused the deaths of between 34 and 40 inhabitants, all of them in Santiago de Cuba. A further 700 people were injured. [1]
The Cayman Trough is a complex transform fault zone pull-apart basin which contains a small spreading ridge, the Mid-Cayman Rise, on the floor of the western Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It is the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea and forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. It extends from the Windward Passage, going south of the Sierra Maestra of Cuba toward Guatemala. The transform fault continues onshore as the Polochic-Motagua fault system, which consists of the Polochic and Motagua faults. This system continues on until the Chiapas massif where it is part of the diffuse triple junction of the North American, Caribbean and Cocos plates.
The North American plate is a tectonic plate containing most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of 76 million km2 (29 million sq mi), it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific plate.
The 2009 Swan Islands earthquake occurred on May 28 at 02:24:45 AM local time with a moment magnitude of 7.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The epicenter was located in the Caribbean Sea, 64 kilometres (40 mi) northeast of the island of Roatán, 19 miles northeast of Port Royal, Isla de Bahias, 15 miles northwest of Isla Barbaretta, and 130 kilometres (81 mi) north-northeast of La Ceiba. Three aftershocks followed the earthquake within magnitude 4 range.
The 1692 Jamaica earthquake struck Port Royal, Jamaica, on 7 June. A stopped pocket watch found in the harbor during a 1959 excavation indicated that it occurred around 11:43 AM local time.
The Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone is a system of active coaxial left lateral-moving strike slip faults which runs along the southern side of the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located. The EPGFZ is named for Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic where the fault zone emerges, and extends across the southern portion of Hispaniola through the Caribbean to the region of the Plantain Garden River in Jamaica.
The Septentrional–Orient fault zone (SOFZ) is a system of active coaxial left lateral-moving strike slip faults that runs along the northern side of the island of Hispaniola where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located and continues along the south of Cuba along the northern margin of the Cayman Trough. The SOFZ shares approximately half of the relative motion between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates with the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone and Walton fault zone which run along the southern side of Hispaniola and aong the southern margin of the Cayman Trough. Both fault zones terminate at the Mid-Cayman Rise to the west. Some researchers believe that the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone and the SOFZ bound a microplate, dubbed the Gonâve Microplate, a 190,000 km2 (73,000 sq mi) area of the northern Caribbean Plate that is in the process of shearing off the Caribbean Plate and accreting to the North America Plate.
The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of Jamaica with a magnitude of 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale on Monday January 14, at about 3:30 p.m. local time, is described by the United States Geological Survey as one of the world's deadliest earthquakes recorded in history. Every building in Kingston was damaged by the earthquake and subsequent fires, which lasted for three hours before any efforts could be made to check them, culminating in the death of about 1,000 people, and causing approximately $30 million in material damage. Shortly after, a tsunami was reported on the north coast of Jamaica, with a maximum wave height of about 2 m (6–8 ft).
The Gonâve microplate forms part of the boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate. It is bounded to the west by the Mid-Cayman Rise spreading center, to the north by the Septentrional-Oriente fault zone and to the south by the Walton fault zone and the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone. The existence of this microplate was first proposed in 1991. This has been confirmed by GPS measurements, which show that the overall displacement between the two main plates is split almost equally between the transform fault zones that bound the Gonâve microplate. The microplate is expected to eventually become accreted to the North American plate.
The 2003 Dominican Republic earthquake occurred on September 22 at 00:45:37 local time with a moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme).
The 1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake occurred at 17:00 local time on 7 May. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.1 on the Ms scale and triggered a destructive tsunami. It badly affected the northern coast of Haiti and part of what is now the Dominican Republic. Port-de-Paix suffered the greatest damage from both earthquake and tsunami. Approximately 5,000 people were killed by the effects of the earthquake shaking and another 300 by the tsunami.
At 02:10 PM local time (UTC-5) on 28 January 2020, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 Mw struck the north side of the Cayman Trough, north of Jamaica and west of the southern tip of Cuba, with the epicenter being 80 miles east-southeast of Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands, and 83 miles north of Montego Bay, Jamaica. Schools in Jamaica, as well as corporate and public buildings in Miami, were evacuated after shaking was experienced in parts of the U.S. state of Florida, a region not typically thought of in-relation to seismic activity. Light shaking was also reported on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The quake was the largest seismic event in the Caribbean since 1946. A tsunami warning for the Caribbean Sea was initially issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, later being withdrawn.
The 1900 Venezuelan earthquake also known as the San Narciso earthquake, occurred on October 28 at between 4:30 and 4:45 am local time. This earthquake had an epicenter off Miranda State or near the Venezuelan capital Caracas, in the Cariaco Basin. It had an estimated moment magnitude of 7.6–7.7 and a surface-wave magnitude of 7.7–8.4. It had a maximum Mercalli intensity assigned VIII–X, causing landslides and liquefaction events. Many buildings were severely damaged or collapsed during the earthquake. It is thought to be the last great earthquake of the 19th century and the largest instrumentally recorded in the republic, having been felt throughout.
The 1790 Oran earthquake occurred on 10 October, striking near the coastal city of Oran in Algeria. The earthquake had an evaluated maximum seismic intensity of VIII–X on the European macroseismic scale (EMS-98). An estimated 3,000 people died during the earthquake and accompanying tsunami. The magnitude of this earthquake has been disputed among members of the paleoseismology field, with estimates ranging from 7.5 to even as small as 5.5.
The 1716 Algiers earthquake was part of a seismic sequence which began in February and ended in May 1716. The largest and most destructive shock occurred on February 3 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.0. The earthquakes with an epicenter thought to be in the Algiers region had a maximum European macroseismic scale (EMS-98) intensity of IX (Destructive), killing approximately 20,000 people. The earthquake was felt in Catania and Syracuse on the Italian island Sicily.
The 1604 Quanzhou earthquake was an extremely large seismic event that occurred in the Taiwan Strait, off the coast of Fujian Province, near Quanzhou during the Ming dynasty. According to modern-day calculations, the earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.1 Mw. It is unknown how many casualties resulted from the quake, but major damage was reported.
The 1870 Charlevoix earthquake occurred on 20 October in the Canadian province of Quebec. It had a moment magnitude of 6.6 Mw and a Modified Mercalli intensity rating of X (Extreme). The town of Baie-Saint-Paul was seriously damaged by the event, with the loss of six lives. Effects from the earthquake were felt as far as Virginia and along the New England coast of the United States.
The 1915 Imperial Valley earthquakes were two destructive shocks centered near El Centro, California on June 22. The earthquakes measured Ms 6.25 and occurred nearly one hour apart at 19:59 and 20:57 PST. Both shocks were assigned VIII (Severe) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Heavy damage occurred in the areas of Mexicali and El Centro, amounting to $900,000. At least six people were killed in the earthquakes.
The 1743 Salento earthquake affected the Apulian region of southwestern Italy on 20 February at 23:30 IST. The ~7.1 Mw earthquake had an epicenter in the Adriatic and Ionian seas, off the coast of modern-day Lecce and Brindisi provinces in Salento. It had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing heavy damage in Nardò. Damage was also reported across the sea, in the Balkans. The earthquake also generated a tsunami of up to 11 meters in run-up. Between 180 and 300 people were killed in the disaster.
The 1804 Almería earthquake was a highly destructive seismic event in the Province of Almería, southern Spain. It occurred on 25 August at 8:25 pm local time. The mainshock had a maximum intensity assigned VIII–IX on the European macroseismic scale (EMS), and an estimated moment magnitude of 6.2–6.4 Mw . At least 400 people were reported killed.