1907 Kingston earthquake
Encyclopedia
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Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
with a magnitude of 6.5 on the moment magnitude scale
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
on Monday January 14th, at about 3:30 pm local time (21:36 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
), was considered by many writers of that time one of the world's deadliest earthquakes recorded in history. Every building in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
was damaged by the earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
and subsequent fires, which lasted for three hours before any efforts were made to check them, culminated in the death of 800 to 1,000 people, and left approximately 10,000 homeless and $25,000,000 in material damage.
Shortly after, a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
was reported on the north coast of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, 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 MicroplateGonâve Microplate
The Gonâve Microplate forms part of the boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. It is bounded to the west by the Cayman spreading center, to the north by the Septentrional-Oriente fault zone and to the south by the Walton fault zone and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden...
and the Caribbean Plate
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....
. To the east of the island the main fault is the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone
The Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone is a system of coaxial left lateral-moving strike slip faults which runs along the southern side of the island of Hispaniola, where the Dominican Republic and Haiti are located...
while to the west the main structure is the Walton fault zone, 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
Transpression
Transpression is a geological term used to describe a region of the Earth's crust that experiences strike-slip shear and a component of shortening, resulting in oblique shear. Transpression typically occurs at a regional scale, such as plate boundaries that have an oblique convergence. More...
at this restraining bend in the plate boundary.
Damage
The greatest damage occurred at Kingston and at Buff Bay and Annotto BayAnnotto Bay
Annotto Bay is a town in the parish of Saint Mary in Jamaica. - External links :*...
on the northern coast. 85% 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
Elder Dempster Lines
Elder Dempster Lines was a British shipping company which operated from 1932 to 2000, although its origins stretch back into the mid-19th century.-History:Elder Dempster and Company started trading as the African Steamship Company in 1852...
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 unaffected railway wharf before the fire reached her. A suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
was destroyed at Port Maria
Port Maria
Port Maria is the capital town of the Jamaican parish of Saint Mary. It has a population of approximately 7,500 people and is the seat of the Saint Mary Parish Council. The Mayor of Port Maria is Richard Creary...
.
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 aftershockAftershock
An aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake, in the same area of the main shock. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock...
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
Blue Mountains (Jamaica)
The Blue Mountains form the longest mountain range in Jamaica. They include the island's highest point, Blue Mountain Peak, at 2256 m . From the summit, accessible via a walking track, both the North and South coasts of the island can be seen...
.
The greatest felt intensity was noted for areas built on unconsolidated sands and gravels. To the east of Kingston, along the Palisadoes
Palisadoes
Palisadoes 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 volcano
A sand volcano or sand blow is a cone of sand formed by the ejection of sand onto a surface from a central point. The sand builds up as a cone with slopes at the sand's angle of repose. A crater is commonly seen at the summit...
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 BayHope Bay, Jamaica
Hope Bay is a settlement in Jamaica. It had a population of 1,646 as of 2009....
, Port Antonio
Port Antonio
Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about 60 miles from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991...
, Orange Bay
Orange Bay
Orange Bay is the name of two small bays in Jamaica. One is located at in the parish of Westmoreland, to the north of the resort town of Negril. The other is at in the east, in the parish of Portland, 15 miles west of the capital, Port Antonio...
, Sheerness Bay, Saint Ann's Bay
Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica
Saint Ann's Bay is a settlement in Jamaica, the capital of Saint Ann Parish. It has a population of 13,671 as of 2009.Musicians Floyd Lloyd and Burning Spear, and Marcus Garvey were born in the town.-History:...
, Buff Bay, Port Maria and Annotto Bay; there were also some reports of waves along the south coast. Seiche
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 and seas...
s were reported in Kingston harbour. The level of the sea at Annotto Bay was reported to have initially dropped by more than 3 metres, as the sea withdrew a distance of about 80 m, before returning at a height of about 2 metres 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(KPH), despite loss of its water supply, continued to function throughout the following night. Three United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
warships, USS Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-11)
USS Missouri , a Maine-class battleship, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 24th state....
, USS Indiana
USS Indiana (BB-1)
USS Indiana was the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890 and commissioned five years later, she was a small battleship, though with heavy armor and ordnance. The ship also pioneered the use of an...
and USS Whipple
USS Whipple (DD-15)
The first USS Whipple was a in the United States Navy, named for Abraham Whipple.She was laid down on 13 November 1899 at Sparrows Point, Maryland, by the Maryland Steel Company; launched on 15 August 1901; sponsored by Miss Elsie Pope; and commissioned on 17 February 1903, Lieutenant Jehu V...
landed men and supplies on 17 January, although an offer of eight surgeons was rejected by the Governor.