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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 Hispa ...
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 pa ...
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, fr ...
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 exp ...
was reported on the north coast 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 Hispa ...
, 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 commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite department of Haiti. It has a population of about 300 ...
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 border ...
. 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 locate ...
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 A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountai ...
, both major sinistral (left lateral)
strike-slip faults 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 ...
. 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 ve ...
at this restraining bend in the plate boundary.


Damage

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). Jam ...
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 Spanis ...
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 is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical ...
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 thousa ...
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. The greatest felt intensity was noted for areas built on unconsolidated sands and gravels. To the east of Kingston, along the
Palisadoes Palisadoes (word apparently of Portuguese origin) is the thin tombolo of sand that serves as a natural protection for Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Norman Manley International Airport and the historic town of Port Royal are both on Palisadoes. ...
, there were
sandblow Sand boils or sand volcanoes occur when water under pressure wells up through a bed of sand. The water looks like it is boiling up from the bed of sand, hence the name. Sand volcano A sand volcano or sand blow is a cone of sand formed by th ...
s and surface faulting associated with areas of subsidence and flooding.


Tsunami

After the earthquake, tsunami were observed along much of the north coast of Jamaica at
Hope Bay Hope Bay (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Bahía Esperanza'') on Trinity Peninsula, is long and wide, indenting the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and opening on Antarctic Sound. It is the site of the Argentinian Antarctic settlement Esperanza Ba ...
,
Port Antonio Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991. It is the island's third largest port, famous as a shipping point for b ...
, Orange Bay, Sheerness Bay, Saint Ann's Bay, Buff Bay, Port Maria and Annotto Bay; there were also some reports of waves along the south coast.
Seiche A seiche ( ) is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbors, caves and seas. The key requirement for formation of ...
s 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 ''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 Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) is a public general hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. It is the oldest public hospital in Jamaica and is the main hospital in south eastern Jamaica. The hospital is operated by the South East Regional Health Authority ...
, despite loss of its water supply, continued to function throughout the following night. Three
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
warships, the
battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...
s and and the
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...
, landed men and supplies on 17 January, although an offer of eight
surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
s was rejected by
Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...
Alexander Swettenham Sir James Alexander Swettenham (1846 – 19 April 1933) was a British colonial administrator who was Governor of British Guiana (1901–1904) and Governor of Jamaica (1904–1907). Early life Alexander was born the son of James Oldham Swetten ...
.


See also

* List of earthquakes in 1907 *
List of earthquakes in the Caribbean Major earthquakes in the Caribbean are infrequent and are sometimes accompanied by tsunami. Earthquakes See also *List of earthquakes in Cuba *List of earthquakes in the Dominican Republic * List of earthquakes in Haiti *List of earthquakes i ...


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
1907 Kingston earthquake The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of Jamaica with a magnitude of 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale on Monday January 14, at about 3:30 p.m. local time (20:36 UTC), is described by the United States Geological ...
Kingston 1907 in Jamaica 1900s tsunamis January 1907 events History of Kingston, Jamaica 1907 disasters in North America