1927 Jericho earthquake

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1927 Jericho earthquake
Dead Sea terrain location map.jpg
Bullseye1.png
Green pog.svg
Jerusalem
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Nablus
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Tiberias
UTC  time1927-07-11 13:04:10
ISC  event 909378
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateJuly 11, 1927 (1927-07-11)
Local time15:04:10 [1]
Magnitude6.3 Mw [2]
Depth15 km (9.3 mi) [2]
Epicenter 31°55′N35°38′E / 31.92°N 35.63°E / 31.92; 35.63
Areas affected Mandatory Palestine
Transjordan
Total damageSerious damage to Jericho, Ramla, Tiberias, Nablus and Jerusalem
Max. intensity MSK-64 IX (Destructive) [3] [4]
MMI VIII (Severe) [5]
Casualties287–500 [1] [6]

The 1927 Jericho earthquake was a devastating event that shook Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan on July 11 at 15:04 local time. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the northern area of the Dead Sea. The cities of Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramle, Tiberias, and Nablus were heavily damaged and at least 287, as many as 400 [7] , were estimated to have been killed.

Contents

Earthquake

Vered and Striem (1977) located the earthquake epicenter to be near the Damya Bridge in the Jordan Valley, and close to the city of Jericho. [8] Later research by Avni (1999), located the epicenter to be around 50 km south of this location near the Dead Sea. [9]

Effects

Mandatory Palestine

Jerusalem

The death toll in Jerusalem included more than 130 people and around 450 were injured. About 300 houses collapsed or were severely damaged to the point of not being usable. The earthquake also caused heavy damage to the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the al-Aqsa Mosque.

The rest of the country

The earthquake was especially severe in Nablus where it destroyed around 300 buildings, including the Mosque of Victory and the historic parts of the Great Mosque of Nablus. [8] The death toll in Nablus included more than 150 people and around 250 were injured.

In Jericho, a number of houses collapsed, including several relatively new hotels. In one of the hotels, three female tourists from India were killed. [10] Ramla and Tiberias were also heavily damaged.

Emirate of Transjordan

The most affected city in Transjordan was Salt in which 80 people were killed. In the rest of Transjordan another 20 people were killed.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1927 in Mandatory Palestine</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 Kallner-Amiran, D. H. "A Revised Earthquake Catalog of Palestine" . Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  2. 1 2 ISC (2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
  3. Zohar & Marco 2012.
  4. Ambraseys, N. N.; Melville, R. D.; Adams, R. D. (2005), The Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A Historical Review, Cambridge University Press, p. 122, ISBN   978-0521020251
  5. Ambraseys, N. N. (1988). "Engineering seismology: Part I". Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics. 17 (1). Table II. Bibcode:1988EESD...17....1A. doi:10.1002/eqe.4290170101. ISSN   0098-8847.
  6. National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) (1972), Significant Earthquake Database, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
  7. "Four Hundred Bodies Recovered in Ruins of Palestine Earthquake". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  8. 1 2 Wachs, Daniel; Levitte, Dov (June 1978), Damage Caused By Landslides During the Earthquakes of 1837 and 1927 in the Galilee Region, Geological Survey of Israel
  9. Shapira, Avi; Avni, Ron; Nur, Amos (1993). "A new estimate for the epicenter of the Jericho earthquake of 11 July 1927". Israel Journal of Earth Sciences. Israel Geological Society. pp. 93–96.
  10. Duff, Douglas V. (1934) Sword for Hire.The Saga of a Modern Free-Companion. John Murray, London. 1st Edition. pp.219–227
  11. "Air photo based map of Jericho, 1946, produced by the Royal Engineers of the British Army, showing the location of the hotel". The National Library of Israel, The Eran Laor Cartographic Collection.

Sources