The 1902 Shamakhi earthquake occurred on 13 February with a

surface-wave magnitude The surface wave magnitude (M_s) scale is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to describe the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements of Rayleigh surface waves that travel along the uppermost layers of the Earth. This ma ...

of 6.9 and a maximum felt

Modified Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...

of IX (''Violent''). Up to 2,000 people died and thousands more were injured in the

Shemakha uezd The Shemakha ''uezd'' was a county (''uezd'') within the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire, and then of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR until its formal abolishment in 1929. The county was located in central part of the Bak ...

within the

Baku Governorate The Baku Governorate, known before 1859 as the Shemakha Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its center in the booming metropolis and Caspian Sea port of Baku. Area (1897): 34,400 sq ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(present-day Republic of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

). About 7,439 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the city and surrounding villages. Shamakhi had been devastated by earlier earthquakes in 1806, 1859 and 1872. It is one of the most destructive earthquakes in Azerbaijan.

Impact

The earthquake struck at noon, and Shamakhi was totally destroyed. In addition to the city in ruins, the earthquake also devastated 125 nearby settlements. The destruction of 4,000 homes left 20,000 people homeless. Eight historical

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s, 42

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

es, more than 10

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

s, as well as many commercial buildings and shops were destroyed. In the villages outside the city, over 3,000 houses, many mosques and farmhouses were razed. Damage was made worse by fires started from people cooking; it destroyed many structures that were still standing. The destruction of Shamakhi was attributed to wet soil conditions and building materials which consisted of stones and clay mortar. Damage was light in areas where

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

lived because most homes in these areas were constructed from wood.

References

{{Earthquakes in Azerbaijan 1902 earthquakes Earthquakes in Azerbaijan February 1902 events 1902 in Asia 1902 in the Russian Empire 1902 disasters in the Russian Empire 20th-century disasters in Azerbaijan

Impact

See also

References