2000 Baku earthquake

Last updated
2000 Baku earthquake
Reliefkarte Aserbaidschan 2023.png
Green pog.svg
Tbilisi
Green pog.svg
Shamakhi
Bullseye1.png
UTC  time2000-11-25 18:09:11
ISC  event 2770732
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateNovember 25, 2000 (2000-11-25)
Local time22:09:11 UTC+4 [1]
Magnitude6.8 Mw [1]
Depth35 km (22 mi) [1]
Epicenter 40°15′N49°54′E / 40.25°N 49.9°E / 40.25; 49.9 [1]
Areas affected Azerbaijan
Max. intensity MMI VI (Strong) [2]
Casualties26 dead, 412 injured

The 2000 Baku earthquake occurred on November 25 at 22:09 (18:09 UTC) local time with an epicenter just offshore Baku, Azerbaijan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale and the maximum felt intensity was VI on the Mercalli intensity scale. [2] It was followed three minutes later by a quake measuring 5.9. It was the strongest for almost 160 years, since 1842 in the Baku suburbs and in addition to the capital, affected Sumgayit, Shamakhi and neighboring cities. According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicentre was in the Caspian Sea, 25 km to the south-southeast of Baku. The earthquake was felt as far away as e.g. Tbilisi, 600 km northwest of the epicentre, Makhachkala and the Karabudakh and Isberbas settlements in Dagestan.

Contents

Tectonic setting

Baku lies on the Absheron peninsula close to the northern edge of the broad and complex zone of deformation caused by the continuing collision between the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. There are two main active seismic zones on the Absheron peninsula. The northern zone is part of the North Caucasus thrust belt that continues to the east along the Apsheron Sill, which is interpreted to be a zone of active subduction. Earthquakes recorded in the northern zone are mainly deep reverse or shallow normal in type. [3] The southern zone is interpreted to be a continuation of the Greater Caucasus thrust. Earthquakes in this area are mainly reverse or right lateral strike-slip in type. [4]

Earthquake

The earthquake consisted of two closely spaced events 90 seconds apart. The first event had an oblique reverse fault mechanism on a steeply-dipping fault trending northwest–southeast, while the second was pure reverse in type on a moderately-dipping reverse fault trending west-northwest–east-southeast. Within the uncertainties, the two events occurred at the same depth, at about 40 km. [5]

Damage

According to the Azerbaijani government, 26 people died as a primary result, but only three people in collapsing buildings. A total of 412 people were either hospitalised or sought medical assistance. President Heydar Aliyev announced that more than 90 buildings and apartment blocks have been seriously damaged. Damage was identified at the German church, the 15th century Shirvanshahs' Palace, the Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Taza Pir Mosque, the Blue Mosque and the Palace of Marriage Registrations. Despite affecting the northeastern coastline of Azerbaijan, no damage to the offshore oil exploration infrastructure has been reported.

Many phone lines were down, and the electricity was out in much of the city. Due to anxiety caused by possible fires the natural gas supply was reduced to 80%. Baku and Sumgait residents spent the rest of the night on the street. After the disaster seismologists have banned the construction of buildings with over nine floors.

On the same day, the earthquake in Saratov, Russia caused by tectonic changes in the Volga region after the Baku earthquake took place. [6]

Aftermath

Following the presidential decree of November 28, 2000, the State Emergency Commission was provided with an amount of ca. US$5.5 million in order to deal with the consequences of the earthquake. The SEC dispatched assessment teams to the affected areas. In Baku, as of November 27, 19 families have been evacuated from three severely damaged houses. Schools have been temporarily closed.

The UN Disaster Management Team, composed of UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO, was established in order to consider opportunities to support the governmental efforts. The IFRC launched an emergency appeal for international assistance amounting to US$590,000.

See also

Related Research Articles

The 2006 Kamchatka earthquake occurred on April 21, 2006 at 12:25 PM local time. This shock had a moment magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The hypocenter was located near the coast of Koryak Autonomous Okrug at an estimated depth of 22 km, as reported by the International Seismological Centre. This event caused damage in three villages and was followed by a number of large aftershocks. Two M6.6 earthquakes struck on April 29 at 16:58 UTC and again on May 22 at 11:12 UTC. These earthquakes caused no deaths; however, 40 people were reported injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 San Juan earthquake</span> Earthquake in Argentina

The 1977 San Juan earthquake, also known as Caucete earthquake, took place in the province of San Juan, Argentina, on 23 November at 06:26:26 AM. It measured 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale, and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.

The 1991 Racha earthquake occurred in the province of Racha, Georgia, at 9:12 UTC on 29 April. Centered on the districts of Oni and Ambrolauri on the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains, it killed 270, left approximately 100,000 homeless and caused severe damage, including to several medieval monuments. It had a magnitude of 7.0 and was the most powerful earthquake recorded in the Caucasus.

The 2000 Turkmenistan earthquake took place at 8:11 p.m. Moscow Time on December 6 and had a magnitude of 7.0. The intensity of the earthquake reached VII at its epicenter, and IV at the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat. The epicentre was located approximately 25 kilometers north of the city of Balkanabat and 125 kilometres southeast of Türkmenbaşy. There were unconfirmed reports that the quake killed up to 11 people and injured 5 others.

Striking southern Italy on 8 September, the 1905 Calabria earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The first major earthquake of the 20th century, it severely damaged parts of Lipari, Messina Province and a large area between Cosenza and Nicotera and killed between 557 and 2,500 people.

The 1984 San Pedro Basin earthquake occurred on June 24 at 07:17:14 local time with a moment magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The event occurred off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic and resulted in an estimated five fatalities.

The 1975 Lice earthquake struck the Turkish district of Lice at 12:20 local time on 6 September. The epicenter of the Ms 6.7 shock was located near the town of Lice and the maximum felt intensity was VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale. More than 2,300 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagaing Fault</span> Seismic fault in Myanmar

The Sagaing Fault is a major fault in Myanmar, a mainly continental right-lateral transform fault between the Indian Plate and Sunda Plate. It links the divergent boundary in the Andaman Sea with the zone of active continental collision along the Himalayan front. It passes through the populated cities of Mandalay, Yamethin, Pyinmana, the capital Naypyidaw, Toungoo and Pegu before dropping off into the Gulf of Martaban, running for a total length of over 1200 kilometers.

The 1991 Sierra Madre earthquake occurred on June 28 at 07:43:55 local time with a moment magnitude of 5.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The thrust earthquake resulted in two deaths, around 100 injuries, and damage estimated at $33.5–40 million. The event occurred beneath the San Gabriel Mountains on the Clamshell–Sawpit Fault, which is a part of the Sierra Madre–Cucamonga Fault System. Instruments captured the event at a number of strong motion stations in Southern California.

The 2010 Damghan earthquake occurred in northern Iran at 11:53:49 local time on August 27 with a moment magnitude of 5.8 and maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. This strike-slip event damaged and destroyed a number of small villages in a sparsely populated region near the Alborz mountain range. It left four people dead, 40 injured, and about 800 without homes. The deaths and injuries in this moderate event were attributed to the low-quality construction styles that are typical of the area. The Iranian Strong Motion Network provided data by which seismologists determined the type and extent of the slip as well as the peak ground acceleration. Other large and destructive earthquakes have affected Semnan Province, including several events in 856 AD and 1953.

The 1999 Aïn Témouchent earthquake occurred on December 22 at 18:36:56 local time in northern Algeria. The dip-slip event had a moment magnitude of 5.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. At least 22 were killed, 175 were injured, and 15,000–25,000 were made homeless. The Belgian Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters' EM-DAT database and the USGS' National Geophysical Data Center both list financial losses of $60.93 million.

The 1999 Ambrym earthquake occurred on November 26 at 00:21:17 local time with a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The back arc thrust event occurred within the Vanuatu archipelago, just to the south of the volcanic island of Ambrym. Vanuatu, which was previously known as New Hebrides, is subject to volcanic and earthquake activity because it lies on an active and destructive plate boundary called the New Hebrides Subduction Zone. While the National Geophysical Data Center classified the total damage as moderate, a destructive local tsunami did result in some deaths, with at least five killed and up to 100 injured.

The 1906 Manasi earthquake (玛纳斯地震), also known as the Manas earthquake occurred in the morning of December 23, 1906, at 02:21 UTC+8:00 local time or December 22, 18:21 UTC. It measured 8.0–8.3 on the moment magnitude scale and 8.3 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. The epicenter of this earthquake is located in Manas County, Xinjiang, China. An estimated 280–300 people died and another 1,000 more were injured by the earthquake.

The 1997 Bojnurd earthquake occurred on 4 February at 14:07 IRST in Iran. The epicenter of the Mw 6.5 earthquake was in the Kopet Dag mountains of North Khorasan, near the Iran–Turkmenistan border, about 579 km (360 mi) northeast of Tehran. The earthquake is characterized by shallow strike-slip faulting in a zone of active faults. Seismic activity is present as the Kopet Dag is actively accommodating tectonics through faulting. The earthquake left 88 dead, 1,948 injured, and affected 173 villages, including four which were destroyed. Damage also occurred in Shirvan and Bojnord counties. The total cost of damage was estimated to be over US$ 30 million.

The 1706 Abruzzo earthquake, also known as the Maiella earthquake, occurred on November 3 at 13:00 CEST. The earthquake with a possible epicenter in the Central Apennine Mountains (Maiella), Abruzzo had an estimated moment magnitude of 6.6–6.84 Mw . It was assigned a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing tremendous destruction in Valle Peligna. At least 2,400 people were killed.

The 1977 Naghan earthquake struck Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in Iran on April 6 at 13:36 UTC. The earthquake measuring 6.0 Mw  occurred at a depth of 15 km (9.3 mi) and had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). More than 2,100 homes were destroyed and at least 348 people were killed.

The 1977 Khurgu earthquake struck southern Iran near Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province on the morning of March 22. The earthquake measuring moment magnitude (Mw ) 6.7 struck at a depth of 12.5 km (7.8 mi). Thirty five villages were heavily damaged including over 20 which were destroyed. There were 152–167 people killed and 556 injured.

The 1957 Sangchal earthquake struck northern Iran's Mazandaran province on 2 July 1957. It had a moment magnitude of 6.6 or 7.1 (Mw ), focal depth of 15 km (9.3 mi), and maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). It devastated many communities in the Alborz Mountains and caused an estimated 1,500 fatalities. Damage was estimated at US$25 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1940 Shakotan earthquake</span> Earthquake in Japan

The 1940 Shakotan earthquake occurred on August 2 at 00:08:22 JST with a moment magnitude (Mw ) of 7.5 and maximum JMA seismic intensity of Shindo 4. The shock had an epicenter off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan. Damage from the shock was comparatively light, but the accomanying tsunami was destructive. The tsunami caused 10 deaths and 24 injuries on Hokkaido, and destroyed homes and boats across the Sea of Japan. The highest tsunami waves were recorded at the coast of Russia while along the coast of Hokkaido, waves were about 2 m.

The 1947 Dustabad earthquake, also known as the Charmeh earthquake, occurred in South Khorasan Province of northeastern Iran on 23 September. The mainshock had a magnitude of Mw 6.9 and maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). It was accompanied by a Mw  6.1 aftershock on 26 September. These earthquakes killed an estimated 500 people.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 ISC (2017), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2013), Version 4.0, International Seismological Centre
  2. 1 2 United States Geological Survey. "M 6.8 - Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan".
  3. ↑ Jackson, J.; Priestley, K.; Allen, M.; Berberian, M. (2002). "Active tectonics of the South Caspian Basin". Geophysical Journal International. 148 (2): 214–245. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-246X.2002.01588.x .
  4. ↑ Babayev, G.; Ismail-Zadeh, A.; Le Mouël, J.-L. (2010). "Scenario-based earthquake hazard and risk assessment for Baku (Azerbaijan)". Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 10 (12): 2697–2712. Bibcode:2010NHESS..10.2697B. doi: 10.5194/nhess-10-2697-2010 .
  5. ↑ Tan, O.; Taymaz, T. (2006). "Active tectonics of the Caucasus: Earthquake source mechanisms and rupture histories obtained from inversion of teleseismic body waveforms". In Dilek, Y.; Pavlides, S. (eds.). Postcollisional Tectonics and Magmatism in the Mediterranean Region and Asia. doi:10.1130/2006.2409(25). ISBN   9780813724096.
  6. ↑ "Саратовские Вести". Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2006-04-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.