Jump to content

1796 Latakia earthquake

Coordinates: 36°31′37″N 37°57′22″E / 36.527°N 37.956°E / 36.527; 37.956
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1796 Latakia earthquake
1796 Latakia earthquake is located in Syria
1796 Latakia earthquake
Local date26 April 1796
MagnitudeMs 6.8
Depth20 km (12 mi)
Epicenter36°31′37″N 37°57′22″E / 36.527°N 37.956°E / 36.527; 37.956
Max. intensityEMS-98 IX (Destructive)
Casualties1,500 fatalities

The 1796 Latakia earthquake struck present-day east coast of Syria on 26 April. The earthquake had an estimated surface-wave magnitude of 6.8 and maximum EMS-92 intensity of VIII–IX (Heavily damagingDestructive). Damage in Latakia was heavy and there was an estimated 1,500 people killed.

Impact

[edit]

In Latakia, one-third of homes in the city were destroyed while the rest were damaged. Buildings, watchtowers and minarets collapsed. There were about 1,500 fatalities among the city's population of 5,000. A tobacco customs house in the port area collapsed, killing 400 people. Most houses were also destroyed in Jableh. The minaret of a mosque in the city collapsed. Many farmers living in villages outside the cities also died. The Margat and Al-Qadmus castles were totally destroyed. North of Latakia, in Bayırbucak and along the Nahr al-Kabir, many deaths occurred. Shaking was felt from Aleppo to Tripoli and Sidon.[1] The earthquake was followed by coseismic coastal uplift.[2]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sbeinati, Mohamed Reda; Darawcheh, Ryad; Mouty, Mikhail (2005). "The historical earthquakes of Syria: an analysis of large and moderate earthquakes from 1365 B.C. to 1900 A.D." (PDF). Annals of Geophysics. 48 (3): 374–375.
  2. ^ Stiros, Stathis C. (2022). "Earthquakes, tsunamis, dried harbors and seismic coastal uplift: evidence from the Eastern Mediterranean". Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews. 4 (3): 319–328. Bibcode:2022MGRv....4..319S. doi:10.1007/s42990-022-00079-8. S2CID 250286320.