Chios earthquake in 1881
| Chios earthquake | |||
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| date | April 3, 1881 | ||
| Time | 11:35 UTC | ||
| intensity | IX on the MSK scale | ||
| Magnitude | 6.5 M W | ||
| epicenter | 38 ° 18 ′ 0 ″ N , 26 ° 12 ′ 0 ″ E | ||
| country | Ottoman Empire | ||
| dead | 5,058-7,866 | ||
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The Chios earthquake shook the island of Chios and the Çeşme peninsula on April 3, 1881 with a magnitude of 6.5 MW . More than 5000 people were killed. The city of Chios was devastated and severe damage was caused in other places.
Tectonic background
The Aegean Plate is subject to an extension regime , triggered by the westward movement of the Anatolian Plate and the south-westward movement of its southern edge on the Hellenic Deep Sea Trench . This enables a gradual opening of the Gulf of Izmir by means of a system of faults (type of blade displacement ) . Chios and the Karaburun Peninsula are located in a region of high seismicity where many historical earthquakes are known. The region is located in the west of Gediz- and Menderes- trench system's, the edges of roughly in east-west direction trending faults (type expulsion be formed) having an important role in the local tectonics play.
earthquake
On March 22nd, Jul. / April 3, 1881 greg. , around 1:35 p.m. local time, the island of Chios and the Çeşme peninsula were hit by a severe earthquake. The epicenter of the quake was probably southeast of the island of Chios. Four minutes after the main quake, a severe aftershock occurred in which previously undamaged buildings were destroyed. A minor tsunami may have occurred as a result of the earthquake . Sand found away from the coast, which has been interpreted as an indication, could also come from soil liquefaction . Several strong aftershocks occurred in the weeks that followed.
The damage was greatest on the island of Chios. Three quarters of all buildings on the island were destroyed or damaged, the city of Chios was devastated. Almost all churches were destroyed, minarets collapsed. The places Vouno, Flatsia, Kalamoti, Koini, Kallimasia, Didyma and especially Nenita in the south of the island were also very hard hit. The dome of the Nea Moni monastery collapsed. Cracks formed in the ground, telephone and telegraph lines were interrupted, and landslides were triggered. Partly , the bottom dropped off , there were places, changes in sea depth, possibly caused by landslides underwater. The quake caused only minor damage in the north and west of the island.
There was a high number of victims on Chios, also due to the narrow streets. The individual burial of the dead exceeded the possibilities of the survivors, which is why they were buried in mass graves.
On the mainland in the cities of Çeşme and Alaçatı , the number of victims was far lower, also because many residents were on the coast to see the large passenger ship Aya Evangelistra pass by or because of a festival. Other reasons were the wider streets here and the wooden framework of the houses.
About 5,800 houses were destroyed or damaged on the mainland. In Çeşme, the southern districts were particularly hard hit, with all five mosques and four churches in the city being damaged. In Alaçatı, the center was destroyed, while there was little damage in the outskirts.
The death toll is given as 5058 to 7866. Thousands were injured.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f Y. Altinok, B. Alpar, N. Özer, C. Gazioglu: 1881 and 1949 earthquakes at the Chios-Cesme Strait (Aegean Sea) and their relation to tsunamis. In: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. Volume 5. 2005, pp. 717–725, digitized version (PDF; 1.26 MB) on archives-ouvertes.fr (English).
- ↑ a b c d e Nicholas N. Ambraseys : Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East: A Multidisciplinary Study of Seismicity up to 1900. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2009, ISBN 978-0-521-87292-8 , pp. 745– 747
- ↑ a b Significant Earthquake Information: Greece: Khios; Turkey: Cesme. NCEI / WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, accessed September 23, 2020.