Earthquake off Crete 1303

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The earthquake off Crete in 1303 occurred on August 8 at around 6 a.m. It had an estimated magnitude of about 8 on the Richter scale and grade IX (devastation) on the Mercalli scale . The quake triggered a tsunami that caused enormous damage and claimed many lives in Crete and Alexandria .

Geodynamic relationships

The epicenter of the quake was likely to have been in the Hellenic Arch , the arch structure of which can be traced back to the subduction of the African plate under the Aegean plate . The Hellenic Arch is one of the most active earthquake zones in western Eurasia and has a long history of severe earthquakes that can also affect Egypt .

Effects

Historical records describe the devastating effects of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami on Heraklion in Crete, then called Candia and administered by the Republic of Venice . The records are from the day of the quake and twenty days after. They describe the extent of the destruction of the public buildings in Candia and other structures all over Crete. Most of the victims were women and children, but no figures are given. Even in Alexandria there were still massive floods. Many ships sank and some were washed up to three kilometers into the country. The port city of Akkon in the Levant was also affected, buildings there were also destroyed and residents died in the tidal wave. Great damage occurred in Cairo , including the white limestone cladding on the Giza pyramids slipping and mosque minarets collapsing. In Alexandria, the city wall was largely destroyed and the lighthouse was also badly damaged.

characterization

earthquake

The exact location of the epicenter is uncertain, but it is widely believed that the eastern section of the Hellenic Arch of the Islands broke somewhere between Crete and Rhodes . The presumed coordinates are usually 35 ° 00 'N and 27 ° 00' E, ie around 50 kilometers south of Karpathos / Kasos and 70 kilometers east of the east coast of Crete.

The triggered quake caused great damage in a vast area. The death toll is likely to have run into the tens of thousands, with an estimated 4,000 in Crete alone. In addition to Crete, the Peloponnese , Rhodes, Cairo, Acre, Damascus , Antioch and Cyprus were affected . The quake could even be felt in Constantinople 1000 kilometers away and possibly also in Tunis 1500 kilometers away . The magnitude of the quake is also uncertain, but it is very likely that it was 8.0.

Tsunami

A model calculation of the resulting tsunami results in a maximum 9 meter high rising water wall for Alexandria. There were 40 minutes between the arrival of the first giant wave and the earthquake in Egypt.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hamouda, AZ: Numerical computations of 1303 tsunamigenic propagation towards Alexandria, Egyptian Coast . In: Journal of African Earth Science . tape 44 (1) , 2006, pp. 37-44 , doi : 10.1016 / j.jafrearsci.2005.11.005 .
  2. ↑ Tsapanos, TM: A seismic hazard scenario for the main cities of Crete island, Greece . In: Geophysical Journal International . tape 153 (2) , 2003, pp. 403-408 , doi : 10.1046 / j.1365-246X.2003.01874.x .
  3. ↑ Papadopolous, GA, Daskalaki, E., Fokaefs, A. and Giraleas, N .: Tsunami hazards in the Eastern Mediterranean: strong earthquakes and tsunamis in the East Hellenic Arc and Trench system . In: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences . tape 7 , 2007, p. 57-64 , doi : 10.5194 / nhess-7-57-2007 .
  4. ↑ Guidoboni, E. and Comastri, A .: The large earthquake of 8 August 1303 in Crete: seismic scenario and tsunami in the Mediterranean area . In: Journal of Seismology . tape 1 , 1997, p. 55-72 , doi : 10.1023 / A: 1009737632542 .
  5. ↑ Papazachos, BC: Large seismic faults in the Hellenic arc . In: Annali di Geofisica . tape 39 (5) , 1996, pp. 891-903 .