The 1222 Cyprus earthquake occurred at about 06:15 UTC on 11 May. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.0–7.5 and triggered a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

that was recorded in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. The strongest shaking was felt in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

and

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

. Many people died, although there are no estimates for the total number of casualties.

Tectonic setting

The estimated location of the earthquake is on the southwestern coast of Cyprus and is thought to be associated with the

Cyprus arc The Cyprus arc is part of the plate boundary zone that accommodates the motion of the African Plate relative to the Anatolian Plate. It is an arcuate depression located in the southern reaches of Cyprus. The Cyprus arc is considered to be in col ...

. The Cyprus arc is part of the plate boundary zone that accommodates the motion of the

African Plate The African Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes much of the continent of Africa (except for its easternmost part) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It is bounded by the North American Plate and South American Plat ...

relative to the

Anatolian Plate The Anatolian Plate is a continental tectonic plate comprising most of the Anatolia (Asia Minor) peninsula (and the country of Turkey). To the east, the East Anatolian Fault, a left lateral transform fault, forms a boundary with the Arabian Pla ...

. The relative motion of the Anatolian Plate is almost entirely westwards relative to the African Plate. In the eastern part of the arc, earthquakes are entirely

strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

in character. To the west they show a combination of

thrust fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. If ...

ing and strike-slip. A major NE-SW trending strike-slip structure has been identified just west of Cyprus, that is responsible for larger earthquakes in this area.

Damage

Much damage was caused at Limassol and Nicosia and other parts of the island, but the greatest damage was done at Paphos, where there was great loss of life.

Paphos Castle Paphos Castle is located at the western end of the city port. It was originally a Byzantine fortress built to protect the port. Today, the visitor can see the Western Frankish Tower with the Venetian additions as restored by the Ottomans in 1592, ...

, a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

fort, was destroyed and had to be rebuilt by the

Lusignans The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries dur ...

. A modern excavation at Paphos Castle found the remains of a man who apparently climbed into the castle's main drain to escape the earthquake but was trapped there by falling masonry. The sea retreated from the harbour but returned and flooded the town. A church is said to have fallen, burying the bishop and his congregation. Monks of the

Franciscan order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

abandoned their church in Paphos after the earthquake. The castle of

Saranta Kolones Saranta Kolones ( el, Κάστρο Σαράντα Κολώνες, Forty columns castle) is a ruined medieval fortress inside the Paphos Archaeological Park and it is located just north of the harbour of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. It takes ...

, built only 30 years earlier overlooking the harbour, was destroyed by the earthquake. It was never rebuilt, as it was no longer needed to protect the port, which had dried up. The earthquake permanently changed Paphos, rendering the harbour unusable, and moving the shoreline seawards; it no longer had a protected anchorage.

Characteristics

The estimated magnitude for this event is 7.0–7.5 with a maximum estimated felt intensity of IX (''Violent'').

Tectonic setting

Damage

Characteristics

See also

References

Further reading