1843 Guadeloupe earthquake
The 1843 Guadeloupe earthquake occurred at 10:37 local time on 8 February in the island of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles.[3] It had an estimated magnitude (scale unspecified) of 8.5, making it the strongest recorded earthquake in the Caribbean and a maximum perceived intensity of shaking of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale.[2] The earthquake was felt widely throughout the Caribbean and as far away as New York.[3] Around 1,500 to 5,000 people were killed.[2][1]
Tectonic setting
The Lesser Antilles are an island arc formed above the destructive plate boundary where the North American Plate is being subducted beneath the Caribbean Plate at a rate of about 2 cm per year. Historical earthquakes in this region include large megathrust earthquakes on the plate interface, such as those in 1839 and 1843, and smaller intraplate earthquakes within the arc itself, associated with oblique convergence on the plate boundary.[2]
Earthquake
The magnitude of this megathrust earthquake was calculated in the range 7.5–8.0 by Bernard & Lambert in 1988. This was reassessed in 2011 by Feuillet and others, giving an 8.5 magnitude.[2] Later work by Hough in 2013, taking account of reports of the earthquake from the US, supported a magnitude of at least 8.5 for this event.[3]
Damage
In Guadeloupe, Pointe-à-Pitre suffered severe damage with a maximum of 8–900 houses being destroyed of the 1,222 that existed before the earthquake.[4] The earthquake was quickly followed by fires that caused further destruction.[5]
The island of Antigua was also badly affected, with all churches and mills throughout the island reported destroyed. Forty deaths were reported. Damage was also reported from Montserrat, with six casualties.[5]
Tsunami
On Antigua, a rise in sea level by 1.2 meters was interpreted as run-up from the tsunami triggered by the quake. A wharf on the southeast part of the island sank and took on an "undulating appearance".[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Feuillet N.; Beauducel F.; Tapponnier P. (2011). "Tectonic context of moderate to large historical earthquakes in the Lesser Antilles and mechanical coupling with volcanoes". Journal of Geophysical Research. 116 (B10): B10308. Bibcode:2011JGRB..11610308F. doi:10.1029/2011JB008443. hdl:10220/8653. S2CID 51826757.
- ^ a b c Hough S.E. (2013). "Missing great earthquakes". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 118 (3): 1098–1108. Bibcode:2013JGRB..118.1098H. doi:10.1002/jgrb.50083. S2CID 128458643.
- ^ Deville, Charles (1843). Tremblement de terre à la Guadeloupe le 8 février 1843 (in French). Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe (published July 1843). p. 52.
- ^ a b Various (1843). The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle for 1843. Cambridge University Press. pp. 277–279. ISBN 978-1-108-05435-5.
- ^ Robson, G. R. (1964). "An earthquake catalogue for the Eastern Caribbean 1530-1960". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 54 (2): 785–832. Bibcode:1964BuSSA..54..785R. doi:10.1785/BSSA0540020785.
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- 1641 Caracas (6.5)
- 1692 Jamaica (7.5)
- 1751 Port-au-Prince (8.0)
- 1766 Southeastern Caribbean (6.5–7.5)
- 1770 Port-au-Prince (7.5)
- 1787 Boricua (8.0)
- 1812 Caracas (7.5)
- 1839 Martinique (8.0)
- 1842 Cap-Haïtien (8.1)
- 1843 Guadeloupe (8.5)
- 1867 Virgin Islands (7.5)
- 1875 Cúcuta (7.5)
- 1900 Venezuela (7.7)
- 1907 Kingston (6.5)
- 1918 San Fermín (7.1)
- 1929 Cumaná (6.9)
- 1946 Dominican Republic (8.1)
- 1967 Caracas (6.7)
- 1974 Lesser Antilles (6.9)
- 1984 San Pedro Basin (6.7)
- 1997 Cariaco (6.9)
- 2003 Dominican Republic (6.4)
- 2004 Les Saintes (6.3)
- 2007 Martinique (7.4)
- 2009 Swan Islands (7.3)
- 2010 Haiti (7.0)
- 2018 Swan Islands (7.5)
- 2018 Venezuela (7.3)
- 2018 Haiti (5.9)
- 2019–20 Puerto Rico (6.4)
- 2020 Caribbean (7.7)
- 2021 Haiti (7.2)
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