Cuba is located in an area with several active fault systems which produce on average about 2000 seismic events each year. [1] While most registered seismic events pass unnoticed, the island has been struck by a number of destructive earthquakes over the past four centuries, including several major quakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or above.
Approximately 70% of seismic activity in Cuba emanates from the Oriente fault zone, located in the Bartlett-Cayman fault system which runs along the south-eastern coast of Cuba and marks the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. [2] The 12 currently active faults in Cuba also include the Cauto-Nipe, Cochinos and Nortecubana faults. [2] Destructive earthquakes originating from the Oriente fault occurred in 1766 ( MI= 7.6), 1852 ( MI = 7.2) and 1932 ( Ms = 6.75). [3] Some studies suggested there is a high probability the Oriente fault would produce a magnitude 7 earthquake, [4] this happening in January 2020, with a magnitude of 7.7, the highest registered in this country's history.
Notable earthquakes in recent Cuban history include the following:
| Name | Date | Epicentre | M | Intensity | Depth | Notes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1578 Cuba earthquake | August 1578 |
Santiago de Cuba [1] | 6.8 | VIII | 30 km | Magnitude estimated at 6.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VIII EMS-98. [1] | |
| 1580 Cuba earthquake | 1580-12-19 |
Santiago de Cuba [5] | |||||
| 1632 Cuba earthquake | October 1632 |
Santiago de Cuba [6] | |||||
| 1675 Cuba earthquake | 1675-02-11 |
Santiago de Cuba [1] [7] | 5.8 | VII | 30 km | Magnitude estimated at 5.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98. [1] | |
| 1678 Cuba earthquake | 1678-02-11 14:59 |
Santiago de Cuba [7] | 6.8 | VIII | 30 km | Magnitude estimated at 6.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VIII EMS-98. [1] | |
| 1679 Cuba earthquake | 1679-02-11 |
Santiago de Cuba [7] | |||||
| 1682 Cuba earthquake | 1682 |
Santiago de Cuba [7] | 5.8 | VII | 30 km | Magnitude estimated at 5.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98. [1] | |
| 1693 Cuba earthquake | July 1693 |
Havana [8] | "1,500 houses thrown down" | ||||
| 1757 Cuba earthquake | 1757-12-14 |
Santiago de Cuba [9] | |||||
| 1766 Cuba earthquake | 1766-06-11 05:14 |
Santiago de Cuba [10] | 7.6 MI [3] | IX | 35 km | Magnitude estimated at 7.6 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at IX EMS-98. [1] | 120 |
| 1826 Cuba earthquake | 1826-09-18 09:26 |
Santiago de Cuba [11] | 5.8 | VII | 30 km | Magnitude estimated at 5.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98. [1] | |
| 1842 Cuba earthquake | 1842-07-07 |
Santiago de Cuba [1] | 6.0 | VII | 30 km | Magnitude estimated at 6.0 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98. [1] | |
| 1852 Cuba earthquake | 1852-08-20 14:05 UTC |
Santiago de Cuba [10] [12] | 7.2 MI [3] | IX | 30 km | Intensity estimated at IX EMS-98, [1] with 26 heavy aftershocks. Caused severe damage to churches and other buildings in Santiago de Cuba, as well as landslides in the Sierra Maestra region. Shaking felt in the whole of eastern Cuba, up to the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola. [13] | |
| 1852 Cuba earthquake (November) | 1852-11-26 08:37 GMT |
Santiago de Cuba, Sierra Maestra [1] [14] | 7.0 | VIII | 35 km | ||
| 1858 Cuba earthquake | 1858-01-28 22:04 |
Santiago de Cuba [1] | 6.5 | VII | 30 km | ||
| 1880 Cuba earthquake | 1880-01-23 04:39 |
San Cristóbal/ Vuelta Abajo ( Pinar del Río) [1] [15] [16] | 6.0 | VIII | 15 km | A series of severe shock waves originating from western Cuba were also felt in the town of Key West ( Florida), and included a strong earthquake on 23 January 1880 in San Cristóbal, Pinar del Río at 4 a.m. [16] | |
| 1903 Cuba earthquake | 1903-09-22 08:09 |
Santiago de Cuba [1] | 5.7 | VII | 30 km | ||
| 1906 Cuba earthquake | 1906-06-22 07:09 |
Santiago de Cuba [1] | 6.2 | VII | 30 km | ||
| 1914 Cuba earthquake | 1914-02-28 05:19 |
Gibara [1] | 6.2 | VII | 32 km | ||
| 1914 Cuba earthquake | 1914-12-25 05:19 |
Santiago de Cuba [1] | 6.7 | VII | 30 km | ||
| 1932 Cuba earthquake | 1932-02-03 |
20°00′00″N 75°48′00″W / 20.000°N 75.800°W Santiago de Cuba [17] |
6.75 mb [3] | VIII | Intensity estimated at VIII EMS-98. [1] 8 [17] – 1500 [18] deaths, 300 injured. 80% of buildings in Santiago de Cuba affected., [17] with damage totaling 15 million Pesos. [13] | 8 | |
| 1947 Cuba earthquake | 1947-08-07 00:40:20 UTC |
19°45′N 75°19′W / 19.75°N 75.32°W |
6.8 | VIII | 50 km | Magnitude estimated at 6.8 ML and intensity VIII EMS-98. [1] | |
| 1992 Cuba earthquake | 1992-05-25 16:55:04 UTC |
19°36′47″N 77°52′19″W / 19.613°N 77.872°W Cabo Cruz, Pilón– Manzanillo [20] |
6.9 Ms [21] | VII | 23 km | A strong earthquake struck the Cabo Cruz sector, leaving 40 people injured and more than 820 buildings damaged in the Pilon-Manzanillo area. [22] | - |
| 2020 Caribbean earthquake | 2020-01-28
14:10 UTC |
19.419°N 78.756°W
Caribbean Sea |
7.7 Mw | VI | 14.9 km | One house collapsed and more than 300 were damaged. [23] | 0 |
M = Magnitude on the
Richter magnitude scale (ML), except where noted
Intensity= Intensity on the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98), which is somewhat similar to the Modified Mercalli scale (MM)
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas, 2009
- ^ a b Cotilla, 2007
- ^ a b c d Alvarez 1999:2
- ^ Rubio, 1985
- ^ Milne, 1912: 30
- ^ Milne, 1912: 32
- ^ a b c d Milne, 1912: 36
- ^ Milne, 1912: 37
- ^ Milne, 1912: 44
- ^ a b Cotilla, 2003
- ^ Milne, 1912: 54
- ^ Milne, 1912: 62
- ^ a b ONE, 2006
- ^ Milne 1912: 63
- ^ Milne 1912: 80
- ^ a b "Florida. Earthquake History". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- ^ a b c "Significant Earthquake". National Geophysical Data Center. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- ^ Earthquake in Cuba. 1500 Deaths reported. The Sidney Morning Herald, Feb. 4, 1932.
- ^ A Chronological History of the U.S. Navy Cruiser U.S.S. LITTLE ROCK
- ^ USGS. "Significant Earthquakes of the World, 1992". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- ^ Pierrot et al, 1998
- ^ "Earthquake in Cuba Injures 40 and Destroys 100 Homes (Published 1992)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23.
- ^ OnCuba Staff (4 February 2020). "Earthquake-damaged buildings in Cuba were in "poor condition"". On Cuba News. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
Other sources
- Alvarez, Leonardo; Giuliano F. Panza; Franco Vaccari; Bertha E. Gonzalez (December 1999), "Modelling of seismic ground motion in Santiago de Cuba city from earthquakes in Oriente fault seismic zone", Pure and Applied Geophysics, 158 (9–10), Trieste/Miramare: The Abdus Salara International Centre for Theoretical Physics: 1763, Bibcode: 2001PApGe.158.1763A, doi: 10.1007/PL00001242, S2CID 129225540
- Blanco Moreno, Jesús; Joaquín Proenza Fernández (2000). "Sistematización tectonoestratigráfica de Cuba centro oriental". Revista Minería y Geología. XVII (1): 35–45. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- Calais, E.; J. Perrot; B. Mercier de Lépinay (1997). "Tectonic and Kinematic Regime along the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary: New Insights from Broad-band Modeling of the May 25, 1992, Ms = 6.9 Cabo Cruz, Cuba, Earthquake". Pure and Applied Geophysics. 149 (3): 475–487. Bibcode: 1997PApGe.149..475P. doi: 10.1007/s000240050036. S2CID 55729435.
- Calais, E.; J. Perrot; B. Mercier de Lépinay (1998). "Strike-slip tectonics and seismicity along the northern Caribbean plate boundary from Cuba to Hispaniola" (PDF). Geological Society of America Special Papers. 326 (326). Geological Society of America: 125–169. doi: 10.1130/0-8137-2326-4.125. ISBN 978-0-8137-2326-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- Cotilla Rodriguez, M.O. (2003). "The Santiago de Cuba earthquake of 11 June 1766: Some new insights" (PDF). Geofísica Internacional. 42 (4): 589–602. Bibcode: 2003GeofI..42..589C. doi: 10.22201/igeof.00167169p.2003.42.4.313. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- Cotilla Rodriguez, M.O.; Franzke, H.J.; Córdoba Barba, D. (June 2007). "Seismicity and seismoactive faults of Cuba". Russian Geology and Geophysics. 48 (6): 505–522. Bibcode: 2007RuGG...48..505C. doi: 10.1016/j.rgg.2006.08.004.
- Lander, James F. (1997). "Caribbean Tsunamis: An initial history" (PDF). In Ahmad, Rafi (ed.). Natural hazards and hazard management in the Greater Caribbean and Latin America. Vol. 3. Kingston: Unit for Disaster Studies, University of the West Indies. pp. 1–18. ISBN 978-976-41-0115-4.
- Milne, John (1912). A catalogue of destructive earthquakes, A.D. 7 to A.D. 1899. London: British Association for Advancement of Science. Seismological Committee.
- Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas (ONE) (2006). "4. Desastres naturales" (PDF). Compendio de Estadísticas del Medio Ambiente de Cuba, 1990–2004. Havana: Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas.
- Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas (ONE) (2009). "Terremotos fuertes reportados en Cuba" (PDF). Anuario Estadístico de Cuba 2008. Havana: Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas.
- Rubio, M. (1985). The assessment of seismic hazard for the Republic of Cuba. Prague: Ph.D. Thesis, Institute of Geophysics, Science Academy of Czechoslovakia.
- USGS. "Significant Earthquakes of the World, 1992". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
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