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An earthquake – also called a quake, tremor, or temblor – is the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they cannot be felt, to those violent enough to propel objects and people into the air, damage critical infrastructure, and wreak destruction across entire cities. The seismic activity of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a particular time. The seismicity at a particular location in the Earth is the average rate of seismic energy release per unit volume.
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 New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), sometimes called the New Madrid fault line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes in the Southern and Midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri.
Megathrust earthquakes occur at convergent plate boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the thrust fault that forms the contact between the two plates. These interplate earthquakes are the planet's most powerful, with moment magnitudes (Mw) that can exceed 9.0. Since 1900, all earthquakes of magnitude 9.0 or greater have been megathrust earthquakes.
The Puerto Rico Trench is located on the boundary between the North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, parallel to and north of Puerto Rico, where the oceanic trench reaches the deepest points in the Atlantic Ocean. The trench is associated with a complex transition from the Lesser Antilles frontal subduction zone between the South American plate and Caribbean plate to the oblique subduction zone and the strike-slip transform fault zone between the North American plate and Caribbean plate, which extends from the Puerto Rico Trench at the Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands microplate through the Cayman Trough at the Gonâve microplate to the Middle America Trench at the Cocos plate.
The Great Sumatran fault, also known as Semangko fault, is a large strike-slip fault running the entire length of the island of Sumatra. This Indonesian island is located in a highly seismic area of the world, including a subduction zone off the west coast of the island.
The Azores–Gibraltar transform fault (AGFZ), also called a fault zone and a fracture zone, is a major seismic zone in the eastern Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and the Strait of Gibraltar. It is the product of the complex interaction between the African, Eurasian, and Iberian plates. The AGFZ produced these large-magnitude earthquakes and, consequently, a number of large tsunamis: 1755 Lisbon, 1761 Lisbon, 1816 North Atlantic, 1941 Gloria Fault earthquake, 1969 Horseshoe and 1975.
The 2004 Al Hoceima earthquake occurred on 24 February at 02:27:47 local time near the coast of northern Morocco. The strike-slip earthquake measured 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum perceived intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Between 628 and 631 people were killed, 926 injured, and up to 15,000 people were rendered homeless in the Al Hoceima-Imzourene-Beni Abdallah area.
The 1969 Portugal earthquake struck western Portugal and Morocco on 28 February at 02:40 UTC. Originating west of the Strait of Gibraltar, the earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.8 and the maximum felt intensity was VII on the Mercalli intensity scale. In total, 13 people died and 80 sustained minor injuries. It is the largest earthquake to hit Portugal since the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
The 1975 North Atlantic earthquake occurred on May 26 at 09:11 UTC. The epicenter was located in the North Atlantic, in an area between the Azores, Iberian Peninsula, and Morocco. It had a magnitude of Mw 7.9, or Ms 8.1.
The 1761 Lisbon earthquake and its subsequent tsunami occurred in the north Atlantic Ocean and south of the Iberian Peninsula. This violent shock which struck just after noon on 31 March 1761, was felt across many parts of Western Europe and in Morocco. Its direct effects were observed even far north in Scotland and Amsterdam, and to the south in the Canary Islands of Spain. The estimated surface-wave magnitude 8.5 event was the largest in the region, and the most significant earthquake in Europe since the Great Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
An earthquake occurred off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula on July 28, 2021, at 10:15 p.m. local time. The large megathrust earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.2 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A tsunami warning was issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) but later cancelled. The mainshock was followed by a number of aftershocks, including three that were of magnitude 5.9, 6.1 and 6.9 respectively.
The 1998 Azores Islands earthquake struck with an epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Azores Islands of Portugal at 05:19 local time. The 10 km (6.2 mi) deep mainshock, which measured 6.1 on the moment magnitude scale caused significant damage on Faial Island. At least 10 people died, 100 were injured, and 2,500 people were left without homes.
The 1816 North Atlantic earthquake occurred on 2 February somewhere between the Azores Islands and Lisbon, Portugal. The estimated moment magnitude 8.3–8.9 earthquake had an epicenter offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, and was felt in Lisbon at 00:40 local time. Little is known about the quake, but it is believed to be one of the largest to have struck the Atlantic.
The 1755 Meknes earthquake affected Morocco on 27 November 1755. The earthquake had a moment magnitude (Mw ) estimated at between 6.5 and 7.0. It devastated the cities of Fes and Meknes—killing at least 15,000 people in both cities. The earthquake struck less than a month after another earthquake that devastated Morocco and Lisbon on 1 November. Previously regarded as an aftershock, this earthquake likely represented rupture of a separate fault due to changes in tectonic stress following their first event.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Cherkaoui T-E. (2012). "Seismicity and Seismic Hazard in Morocco 1901-2010". Bulletin de l'Institut Scientifique, Rabat, section Sciences de la Terre. 34: 45–55.
- ↑ "Devastating Earthquake in Morocco Claims 2,000 Lives and Leaves 1,500 Injured". chennaiprint.in. 2023-09-10. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ↑ "Earthquake in Morocco causes structural damage, panic". HESPRESS English – Morocco News. 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ↑ "M 5.2 – 22 km SE of Amersid, Morocco". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
- ↑ "M 6.3 – 50 km NNE of Al Hoceima, Morocco". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ "M 6.0 – Azores-Cape St. Vincent Ridge". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ Bensaid, Ihsane; Cherkaoui, Taj-Eddine; Medina, Fida; Caldeira, Bento; Buforn, Elisa; Emran, Anas; Hahou, Youssef (2012). "The 1992 Tafilalt seismic crisis (Anti-Atlas, Morocco)". Journal of Seismology. 16 (1): 35–53. Bibcode:2012JSeis..16...35B. doi:10.1007/s10950-011-9248-5. S2CID 129291396.
- ↑ "Comments for the 1909 earthquake". National Centers for Environmental Information . Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ Poujol, A.; Ritz, J.-F.; Vernant, P.; Huot, S.; Maate, S.; Tahayt, A. (2017). "Which fault destroyed Fes city (Morocco) in 1755? A new insight from the Holocene deformations observed along the southern border of Gibraltar arc". Tectonophysics. 712–713: 303–311. Bibcode:2017Tectp.712..303P. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2017.05.036.