1884 Andalusian Earthquake
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The 1884 Granadan earthquake ( es, Terremoto de Granada de 1884) occurred on 25 December 1884 at 9:08 p.m in the south of Spain, and had an estimated magnitude of 6.7 . It shook a poor region where many of the houses were built without foundations, with lime or mud mortar, and with weak joints. 10,715 buildings were badly damaged, of which 4,399 were completely destroyed. Fortunately, many people were in the streets celebrating Christmas, or casualties would have been higher, but there were over 1,200 deaths and 1,500 serious injuries. The heavy snow that followed the earthquake caused further suffering and deaths. Help was slow to arrive at first, but as the news spread food and blankets arrived, then tents, and then donations from around the world helped with reconstruction.


Background

The Bética region in the south and southeast of Spain experiences seismic activity caused by the collision 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 ...
and the
Eurasian Plate The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...
. Within this region, Granada is a zone of moderate
seismic activity An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
by world standards, but is a dangerous seismic zone under the Spanish building code. Most earthquakes are of
magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...
less than 5.5, but large earthquakes with magnitude greater than 6.5 do occur occasionally. Many of the earthquakes are shallow, at depths of less than , but there are a significant number with
hypocenter In seismology, a hypocenter or hypocentre () is the point of origin of an earthquake or a subsurface nuclear explosion. A synonym is the focus of an earthquake. Earthquakes An earthquake's hypocenter is the position where the strain energy s ...
s at depths from . Some rare events have been detected at depths of around . The slippage rate in the
Ventas de Zafarraya Ventas de Zafarraya is a village in the municipality of Alhama de Granada, Granada, Spain. It is just north of a mountain pass between spurs of the Sierra de Alhama to the west and the Sierra de Tejeda to the east, on the main road from Vélez-Mál ...
fault is about per century. At least two other earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 have occurred along this fault in the last 10,000 years. There are records of earthquakes with
epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...
s in the region in 1431, 1504, 1518,
1522 __NOTOC__ Year 1522 ( MDXXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1522nd year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 522nd year of the 2nd millenn ...
, 1531, 1645, 1674, 1680, 1748,
1804 Events January–March * January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic, having the only successful slave revolt ever. * February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa. * Februa ...
and 1829. Historical records show that destructive earthquakes in the
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
/
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
region occur every 200 years or so. Destructive earthquakes in the Depression of Granada occurred on 24 April and 27 June 1431 and on 27 October 1806 with epicenters in Santa Elvira near
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
. There were destructive shocks in the
Province of Almería Almería (, also , ) is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the homonymous city of Almería. Almería has an area of . With 701, ...
in 1804, 1860 and 1863, and in the
Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...
in 1828–29 and 1864. A few very weak tremors were felt a day or two before the 25 December 1884 earthquake. Minor shocks were noted at Colmenar and
Zafarraya Zafarraya is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Granada, Spain, with a population of 2,200 (2003). Zafarraya is known for a Neanderthal Human mandible, mandible found in a cave (Cueva del Boquete) in 1983 by Cecilio Barros ...
during the night of 24–25 December, and later on 25 December small movements were felt in
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
and
Periana Periana is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of La Axarquía. The municipality is situated approximately 23 kilometres from Vélez and 48 ...
.


Earthquake

The clock at the
Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada The Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada (Royal Institute and Observatory of the Spanish Navy) is the scientific institute and astronomical observatory of the Spanish Navy (''Armada''), located in San Fernando in the Province of Cádiz, ...
stopped at 9:08 p.m. GMT, or 9:18 p.m. Paris time on 25 December 1884. Magnetographs at
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Parc de Saint-Maur near
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
and
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
recorded disturbances at 9:09, 9:14, 9:15 and 9:29 respectively. Two observatories near Rome detected slight tremors at or just after 10:00 p.m. The earthquake caused damage in a zone in the provinces of Granada and Malaga. It was felt as far away as
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
. Later, the French commission estimated that were disturbed by the earthquake, and the Italian commission put the area at . Even the larger estimate must be too small, since the shock was sufficient to ring bells and stop clocks in Madrid. The fracture zone was long, which indicates a moment magnitude of about 6.5 to 6.9. The
epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...
was between and . This is between Arenas del Rey and Ventas de Zafarraya. It is on the northern side of the
Sierra de Tejeda Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
, nearest to Ventas de Zafarraya. The shaking was generally thought to have lasted for 15 to 20 seconds, with a noise "like cannon shots" in Arenas del Rey and
Jayena Jayena is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE), the city has a population of 1237 inhabitants. The village is just north of the Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park The Sier ...
, or like loud thunder in Ventas de Zafarraya,
Alhama de Granada Alhama de Granada is a town in the province of Granada, approx. 50 km from the city of Granada. The name is derived from the thermal baths located there, which are called ''al-hammah'' in Arabic. History There is clear evidence that the ...
,
Alcaucín Alcaucin () is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It borders with the province of Granada. The municipality is situated approximately 54 kilometers to the city of M ...
, Canillas de Aceituno and Colmenar. In Ventas de Zafarraya and Alhama almost vertical longitudinal waves were followed one or two seconds later by transverse waves. This indicates a depth of focus that was probably less than .
Aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...
s were felt during the night that followed, with one at 2:30 causing the collapse of some of the buildings damaged by the main earthquake. That night aftershocks were also felt in Jayena, Alcaucin, Ventas de Huelma,
Motril Motril () is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean coast in the Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province, with a population of 60,368 as of 2016. The town is located near the Guadalfeo River and is from Granada. Hi ...
,
Cacín Cacín is a city located in the province of Granada, Spain. It lies to the east of the Río Cacín, from which it takes its name. According to the 2005 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating in ...
, Dúrcal, and further away in
Vélez-Málaga Vélez-Málaga () is a municipality and the capital of the Axarquía comarca in the province of Málaga, in the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the most important city in the comarca. Locally it is referred to as Vélez. Vélez- ...
. There were almost daily aftershocks until May, causing further damage in the epicentral area. Significant shocks were felt on 30 December 1884 and in 1885 on 3/5/21 January, 19/27 February, 25 March, 11 April and 13 October. A visible crack over long ran in a roughly east-west direction along the northern margin of the Sierra Tejeda and past Ventas de Zafarraya. Displacements along the crack were horizontally and vertically. The earthquake produced soil liquefaction, landslides, cracks in the ground, subsidence, changes to the flow from springs, and the release of gases. The three commissions that investigated the earthquake described phenomena associated with
soil liquefaction Soil liquefaction occurs when a cohesionless saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress such as shaking during an earthquake or other sudden change in stress condition, in ...
at seven separate sites. Dynamic penetration tests have proved that liquefaction occurred at five of these sites.


Damage

The earthquake damaged 106 communities, of which 39 suffered severe damage. The villages of Arenas del Rey, Ventas de Zafarraya and Alhama de Granada were almost completely destroyed. 10,715 buildings were badly damaged, of which 4,399 were completely destroyed. More than 20,000 houses were affected. The most common types of building in the region were poorly built, with lime or mud mortar and without foundations, and proved very vulnerable, particularly when built on soft terrain which amplified the shocks. There was less damage to houses built on old limestone or crystalline rocks, greater damage to houses built on soft sedimentary rocks and greatest damage to those built on alluvial soil. A horseshoe-shaped landslide in
Güevéjar Güevéjar is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE), the city has a population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, regio ...
was about long, with cracks wide and over deep. The village had to be rebuilt in a different place nearby. There were over 1,200 deaths and 1,500 serious injuries. The quake occurred around 9 p.m. on
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
night, so many people were on the streets celebrating the holiday, which reduced the number of victims. Other factors that may have reduced the number of casualties compared to other earthquakes of similar magnitude were that few people lived very close to the epicenter, and the most destructive vibrations were near the end of the shock, giving people time to escape. File:Izaf.jpg , Church of
Zafarraya Zafarraya is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Granada, Spain, with a population of 2,200 (2003). Zafarraya is known for a Neanderthal Human mandible, mandible found in a cave (Cueva del Boquete) in 1983 by Cecilio Barros ...
after the earthquake File:1884 Terremoto. Daños en Alhama de Granada.jpg ,
Alhama de Granada Alhama de Granada is a town in the province of Granada, approx. 50 km from the city of Granada. The name is derived from the thermal baths located there, which are called ''al-hammah'' in Arabic. History There is clear evidence that the ...
File:1884 Terremoto. Daños en Arenas del Rey. Iglesia.jpg, Church in
Arenas del Rey Arenas del Rey is a village located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the city had a population of 1,231 inhabitants. The village is just north of the Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park The ...
File:1884 Terremoto. Daños en Jayena.jpg,
Jayena Jayena is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE), the city has a population of 1237 inhabitants. The village is just north of the Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park The Sier ...


Aftermath

The villages that were most affected were poor and isolated, and the earthquake was followed by unusually heavy snowfall. The disaster left over 15,000 people without homes, another 25,000 were forced to leave their homes by the ruinous conditions, and others left for fear of further collapses. They had to live in the fields, mostly without shelter, and suffered from the cold and snow. Aftershocks, some quite strong, followed in the next few days. Many of those who remained in their homes kept their doors open despite the intense cold. The first priority was to rescue people buried in the rubble and care for the wounded, and this was done by the local people in the first few days. The newspaper ''
El Defensor de Granada ''El Defensor de Granada'' (The Defender of Granada) was a Spanish newspaper with liberal-progressive ideology that was published in Granada between the end of the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. It disappeared after the outb ...
'' published the first news of the disaster on 26 December 1884, but the full extent was not really known until the next day. The editor called for the central and local governments to act, called for national press coverage, and opened a relief fund. He made a series of visits to distribute grants and funds in the affected villages in January, February and March. The civil and military heads of Granada delayed sending relief until ordered by the central government, and no aid arrived in Alhama until 4 January 1885. King
Alfonso XII of Spain Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...
(1857–1885) visited 25 villages in the region between 10 and 20 January 1885, riding on horseback in severe weather. He died later that year. The governors of Granada and Malaga obtained lists of victims, survivors and aid requirements and set up local organizations to distribute aid, usually consisting of the mayor, priest, doctor and leading citizens in each community. Emergency hospitals were set up in Arenas del Rey, Alhama and Padul. Wooden sheds were thrown up for temporary shelter, with 698 sheds built in total in Granada. At a national and international level the first reaction was disbelief, but this was quickly followed by a surge of support for the victims. A national subscription organized by the Spanish government reached 6.5 million pesetas. Newspapers and other organizations collected donations, and aid came from Mexico, Uruguay, Cuba and elsewhere.


Reconstruction

Large donations came from subscription funds and private individuals in Argentina, Britain, Germany and France, and from the Vatican. In Spain, Barcelona alone collected 157,925 pesetas for relief. The Catalan poet
Jacint Verdaguer Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló (; 17 May 1845 – 10 June 1902) was a Catalan / Spanish writer, regarded as one of the greatest poets of Catalan literature and a prominent literary figure of the Renaixença, a cultural revival movement of the ...
published a book of poems ''Caritat'' (''Charity'') to raise funds for reconstruction. People around the world sent donations to help recovery that totaled 10 million pesetas, and in 1885 the ''Comisaría Regia'' was established to distribute the funds to those in need. Cónchar received 31,870 pesetas and Dúrcal received 13,062 pesetas. These were not among the worst affected communities. Ventas de Zafarraya was rebuilt almost entirely with money from Cuba, at that time a colony of Spain, and the village became known as "New Havana". In February 1885 the Ministry of the Interior called for designs by Spanish architects for new houses for the poor, which had to cost no more than 1,500 pesetas and be as strong as possible against future earthquakes. The ministry chose five designs by the architect Mariano Belmás Estrada (1850–1916). They used similar construction techniques and were between in area. Other architects such as
Francisco Jareño y Alarcón Francisco Jareño y Alarcón (24 February 1818 – 8 October 1892 ) was a Spanish architect, author of one of the most remarkable official buildings of the Reign of Isabella II of Spain. Life Jareño was born in Albacete on 24 February 1818. He ...
and Juan Monserrat Vergés cast doubts on whether the Belmás designs would be adequate for the harsh climate of the region. Belmás was replaced in January 1886 by José Marín-Baldo y Cachia (1826–1891). The houses that were built had solid foundations, strong frameworks, reinforced corners and other features designed to reduce risk of collapse. The villages were moved to new sites nearby on stable ground with slopes less than 5%. To ensure access after a future earthquake, reduce the risk of falling facades and provide open places for camps the new village layouts had houses grouped in blocks, streets over wide and large squares. 12,345 people received assistance in reconstruction or repairs, which were undertaken from July 1885 to June 1887.


Investigations and theories

On 7 January 1884 the Spanish government appointed a commission to study the earthquake led by the mining engineer Manuel Fernández de Castro y Suero (1825–1895). They visited the region at once, circulated a 33-question survey, and on 12 March 1885 issued a report based in part on the survey results. They located the focus as deep under the villages of
Periana Periana is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It belongs to the comarca of La Axarquía. The municipality is situated approximately 23 kilometres from Vélez and 48 ...
and Guarro. The preliminary report devoted seven pages to current theories of earthquake causes, volcanic and non-volcanic, including the internal heat of the earth, high pressure vapors and dissolution of rocks by underground waters. A further seven pages described the orography and hydrography of the provinces of Granada and Malaga, followed by twenty-one pages on geology that described rock formations and the location and direction of the main fault line. The Spanish Commission estimated that 17,178 buildings were damaged, of which 4,899 were totally destroyed. 745 people had died and 1,485 had been wounded. They concluded that the earthquake was caused by the pressure of water vapor in deep underground strata, from water that had penetrated the permeable rocks above. The commission noted that atmospheric pressure had dropped markedly before the earthquake. The
French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
sent another commission headed by
Ferdinand André Fouqué Ferdinand André Fouqué (21 June 1828 – 7 March 1904) was a French geologist and petrologist. He was born at Mortain, in the Manche ''département''. At the age of twenty-one he entered the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and from 1853 ...
(1828–1904), an Academy member, which prepared a long report with a map. The French commission said the atmospheric conditions were irrelevant and the earthquake was related to the region's geology. The Italian Government and the
Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...
sent the seismologists Torquato Taramelli (1845–1922) and
Giuseppe Mercalli Giuseppe Mercalli (21 May 1850 – 19 March 1914) was an Italian volcanologist and Catholic Church, Catholic priest. He is known best for the Mercalli intensity scale for measuring earthquake intensity. Biography Born in Milan, Mercalli was o ...
(1850–1912), who also provided a long report on the area's geology with a map of the intensity of the shaking. Mercalli thought the earthquake was produced by the build-up of pressure in magma in a region where the crust was too strong to allow a volcanic eruption. The Italian team, with access to more information than the Spanish and French commissions, estimated there were 750 deaths and 1,554 severely wounded. After careful enquiries, ''El Defensor de Granada'' estimated that 828 died and 1,164 were wounded in Granada alone. The pioneering geologist José Macpherson y Hemas (1839–1902) explained the earthquake as having been caused by movement along the faults that bound the Tejeda / Almijara massif to the north and south. He thought the movement was due to contraction of the earth. Others thought the cause might have been the collapse of underground cavities. In historical times the only earthquake in Spain that was larger than the 1884 earthquake was that of 1954, which also had an epicenter in Granada, although the destruction in 1954 was not as great.


See also

*
List of earthquakes in Spain This is a list of Wikipedia:WikiProject Earthquakes/notability guidelines, notable earthquakes that had epicentres in Spain, or significantly affected the country. Geology Spain lies on the Eurasian Plate just to the north of its boundary with th ...
* 2011 Lorca earthquake


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT: 1884 earthquakes 1884 in Spain December 1884 events Earthquakes in Spain