The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

with a magnitude of 6.2 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

on Monday January 14, at about 3:30 p.m. local time (20:36 UTC), is described by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

as one of the world's deadliest earthquakes recorded in history. Every building in Kingston was damaged by the

earthquake 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 ...

and subsequent fires, which lasted for three hours before any efforts could be made to check them, culminating in the death of about 1,000 people, and causing approximately $30 million in material damage ($ million in ). Shortly after, 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 ...

was reported on the north coast of

, with a maximum wave height of about 2 m (6–8 ft).

Tectonic setting

Jamaica lies within a complex zone of faulting that forms the boundary between the

Gonâve Microplate Gonave may refer to: *Gulf of Gonâve *Gonâve Island * Gonâve Microplate See also *Gonaïves Gonaïves (; ht, Gonayiv, ) is a List of communes of Haiti, commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite (department), Artibonite Depa ...

and the

Caribbean Plate The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America. Roughly 3.2 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbean Plate borders ...

. To the east of the island the main fault is the

Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone The Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone (EPGFZ or EPGZ) is a system of active coaxial left lateral-moving strike slip faults which runs along the southern side of the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located ...

while to the west the main structure is the

Walton fault zone The Walton fault zone is a major active left lateral (sinistral) strike-slip fault, forming part of the southern boundary to the Cayman Trough. It extends from the Mid-Cayman Rise spreading center in the west to Jamaica in the east. It has a total ...

, both major sinistral (left lateral) strike-slip faults. The transfer of plate boundary displacement between these major fault zones takes place on a series of NW-SE trending faults, such as the Wagwater Belt. The overall tectonic setting is one of

transpression In geology, transpression is a type of strike-slip deformation that deviates from simple shear because of a simultaneous component of shortening perpendicular to the fault plane. This movement ends up resulting in oblique shear. It is generally v ...

at this restraining bend in the plate boundary.

Damage

PSM V70 D395 The narrow harbour street of the burned district

The greatest damage occurred at Kingston and at

Buff Bay Buff Bay is a settlement in Portland, Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). ...

and

Annotto Bay Annotto Bay is a town in the parish of Saint Mary in Jamaica. It was once an active port on the north side. This town was previously named ‘Guayguata’ by the Tainos, it is named from the abundance of the Annatto trees in the area. The Spani ...

on the northern coast. Eighty-five percent of buildings in Kingston were destroyed by the shaking, which was followed by a fire that destroyed parts of the business and warehouse districts. The Elder-Dempster passenger steamer '' Port Kingston'', which was under repair in Kingston Harbour at the time, was threatened by fire on the nearby wharf. A rapid temporary repair allowed her to be moved to the safety of an unaffected railway wharf. A

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

was destroyed at

Port Maria Port Maria is the capital town of the Jamaican parish of Saint Mary. Originally named "Puerto Santa Maria", it was the second town established by Spanish settlers in Jamaica. The ruins of Fort Haldane, built 1759, overlook the town. It has a p ...

Characteristics

Earthquake

The main shock lasted for about 35 seconds after some minor initial tremors and was accompanied by a roaring sound. The intensity of the shaking grew quickly to a first and strongest climax. The intensity then lessened before again reaching a second weaker climax. There were eighty

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 recorded up to 5 February, while the strongest of all was recorded on 23 February. The epicenter of the earthquake is not well constrained. The only seismograph in Jamaica at the time was put out of action by the earthquake. The rupture may have been on an eastward continuation of the South Coast Fault Zone, within the Wagwater Belt or in the Blue Mountains (Jamaica), Blue Mountains. The greatest felt intensity was noted for areas built on unconsolidated sands and gravels. To the east of Kingston, along the Palisadoes, there were Sand volcano, sandblows and surface faulting associated with areas of subsidence and flooding.

Tsunami

PSM V70 D394 Northward view of the street in the business section

After the earthquake, tsunami were observed along much of the north coast of Jamaica at Hope Bay, Jamaica, Hope Bay, Port Antonio, Orange Bay (Portland Parish), Orange Bay, Sheerness Bay, Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica, Saint Ann's Bay, Buff Bay, Port Maria and Annotto Bay; there were also some reports of waves along the south coast. Seiches were reported in Kingston Harbour. The level of the sea at Annotto Bay was reported to have initially dropped by more than , as the sea withdrew a distance of about , before returning at a height of about above normal, flooding the lower parts of the town.

Aftermath

The RMS Tahiti, ''Port Kingston'', the only passenger ship in Kingston Harbour, was used as a makeshift hospital, with improvised operating theatres in three parts of the ship and on the adjoining wharf. Kingston Public Hospital, despite loss of its water supply, continued to function throughout the following night. Three United States Navy warships, the battleships and and the destroyer , landed men and supplies on 17 January, although an offer of eight surgeons was rejected by Governor of Jamaica Alexander Swettenham.

References

External links

1907 Earthquake
A pictorial guide to the 1907 Kingston earthquake.
"Kingston Wrecked By Earthquake"; ''The Christian Herald''; Jan. 30, 1907, New York; 1907, p. 87.
{{Authority control Earthquakes in Jamaica, 1907 Kingston earthquake 1907 earthquakes, Kingston 1907 in Jamaica 1900s tsunamis January 1907 events History of Kingston, Jamaica 1907 disasters in North America