The 1970 Dagestan earthquake occurred on May 14 at 21:12 MSK, in the

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia sit ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. It had a moment magnitude of 6.7, and a maximum

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 VIII ''(Severe)''. It was preceded by foreshocks a few hours earlier. The epicenter was located on the territory of the

Buynaksky District Buynaksky District (russian: Буйнакский район, kum, Шура якъ) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of the Republic of Dagestan, forty-one in the Republic of ...

. As a result of the event, 25 percent of the territory of the republic was affected. The earthquake completely destroyed 257 settlements, including the cities of

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

Buynaksk Buynaksk (russian: Буйна́кск; kum, Шура / Темирхан-Шура, ''Şura / Temirxan-Şura'') is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus on the Shura-Ozen River, southwest of ...

Kaspiysk Kaspiysk (russian: Каспи́йск; lbe, Ккасппи; av, Каспиялъухъ) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea, southeast of Makhachkala. The 2010 Russian census recorded the city as being the f ...

Khasavyurt Khasavyurt (russian: Хасавю́рт; av, Хасаюрт; ce, Хаси-Эвл, ''Xasi-Evl''; kum, Хасав-ю́рт, ''Xasav-yurt'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. Population: His ...

and

Kizilyurt Kizilyurt (russian: Кизилю́рт; av, Гъизилюрт; kum, Къызыл-юрт, ''Qızıl-yurt'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, about northwest of Makhachkala. Population: . It ...

. It caused at least 31 fatalities and up to 1,000 injured.

Earthquake

The

Caucasus Region The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

has a history of major earthquakes including the devastating earthquake in Armenia in 1988, due to the tectonic relationship between the

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

and

Arabian Plate The Arabian Plate is a minor tectonic plate in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres. It is one of the three continental plates (along with the African and the Indian Plates) that have been moving northward in geological history and collidin ...

s. The earthquake of 1970 is the largest in the 20th century in the Caucasus after the Shamakhi earthquake of 1902. According to the Zarya Vostoka, a newspaper based on

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, the earthquake reached a maximum intensity of VIII and was spread across the Caucasus.

Damage and casualties

The earthquake damaged 16 rural areas and four cities in Dagestan. At least 25 percent of the territory, where more than 50% of the population lived, was affected. The cities of

and

were particularly hard hit. The earthquake killed 31 people, injured more than 1,000 others and leaving 45,000 homeless. The death was minimalized by the fact that the earthquake was preceded by a strong foreshock at about 12:20 MSK. In the capital, Makhachkala, damage was extensive; many buildings constructed of brick were severely damaged or collapsed. Cracks in the plaster were observed, cases of partial damage or collapse of chimneys were noted. The upper part of the

Chirkey Dam The Chirkey Dam (Chirkeisk GES) is an arch dam on the Sulak River in Dagestan, Russia. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production, and it supports a 1,000 MW power station. Construction on the dam began in 1964, the first ...

was damaged, but the dam itself remained stable and was subsequently repaired. According to a press release by

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, the earthquakes collapsed homes, set off

rockslide A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...

s, opened

fissure A fissure is a long, narrow crack opening along the surface of Earth. The term is derived from the Latin word , which means 'cleft' or 'crack'. Fissures emerge in Earth's crust, on ice sheets and glaciers, and on volcanoes. Ground fissure A ...

s, and triggered tidal waves which inundated sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s along the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

coastline.

References

{{Earthquakes in Russia Earthquakes in Russia 1970 in Russia 1970 in the Soviet Union Dagestan Dagestan earthquake

Earthquake

Damage and casualties

See also

References