Earthquakes in Spain

Earthquakes in Spain.

Earthquakes in Southern Spain are a frequent occurrence there are approximately 2,500 Earthquakes every year. Most are so slight they cannot be felt and so go unnoticed. There are many seismological stations throughout southern Spain and all quakes are registered and documented.
All this seismic activity is caused by the African tectonic plate pushing the European-Asian plate northwards and eastwards at approximately 1cm every year.

Earthquakes of higher than 4 on the Richter scale are usually responsible for damage to property.

Over the last ten years there have been several quakes over 4 on the Richter scale the most notable of which are:

A quake of 4.8 in Murcia on the 2nd of Feb 1999 that caused damage to the village of Mula.

A quake of 4.5 was detected in the Mediterranean near Valencia in August 2003 and again on the 21st of Sept of the same year in the same place.

At the end of Jan 2005 a 4.6 quake happened in Bulla in Murcia damaging over 200 properties. A similar quake happened in august 2002 although it was slightly smaller at 4.5 degrees.

The strongest recorded quake was in 1755 it had its epicentre in Lisbon and measured 8.7 on the Richter scale The quake damaged 85% of the property in Sevilla and thousands of the coastal inhabitants in the province of Cadiz lost their lives in the following Tsunami that sent a wave measuring 30 feet high along the coastline.

Another large quake hit Arenas del Rey in the province of Granada in 1884 this quake took the lives of over 800 people.

More information on the quake of 1755

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, took place on November 1, 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami and fires, which caused near-total destruction of Lisbon in Portugal, and adjoining areas. Geologists today estimate the Lisbon earthquake approached magnitude 9 on the Richter scale, with an epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km (120 mi) west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent. Estimates place the death toll in Lisbon alone between 10,000 and 100,000 people, making it one of the most destructive earthquakes in history.

The earthquake accentuated political tensions in Portugal and profoundly disrupted the country s eighteenth-century colonial ambitions. The event was widely discussed and dwelt upon by European Enlightenment philosophers, and inspired major developments in theodicy and in the philosophy of the sublime. As the first earthquake studied scientifically for its effects over a large area, it led to the birth of modern seismology and earthquake engineering

Lisbon had been shaken by several important earthquakes before November 1755: eight in the 14th century, five in the 16th century (including the 1531 earthquake that destroyed 1,500 houses, and the 1597 earthquake when three streets vanished), and three in the 17th century. During the 18th century, two earthquakes were reported in 1724 and 1750. In 1755, the earthquake struck on the morning of 1 November, the Catholic holiday of All Saints Day. Contemporary reports state that the earthquake lasted between three-and-a-half and six minutes, causing gigantic fissures five-metres (15 ft) wide to appear in the city centre. Survivors rushed to the open space of the docks for safety and watched as the water receded, revealing a sea floor littered by lost cargo and old shipwrecks. Approximately forty minutes after the earthquake, an enormous tsunami engulfed the harbour and downtown, rushing up the Tagus river. It was followed by two more waves. In the areas unaffected by the tsunami, fire quickly broke out, and flames raged for five days.

Lisbon was not the only Portuguese city affected by the catastrophe. Throughout the south of the country, in particular the Algarve, destruction was rampant. A tsunami destroyed some coastal fortresses in the Algarve and, in the lower levels, razed several houses. Almost all the coastal towns and villages of the Algarve were heavily damaged, except Faro, which was protected by the sandy banks of Ria Formosa. In Lagos, the waves reached the top of the city walls. Other towns of different Portuguese regions, like Peniche, Cascais, and even Covilhã which is located near the Serra da Estrela mountain range in central inland Portugal, were affected. The shock waves of the earthquake destroyed part of Covilhã s castle walls and its large towers, and were felt throughout Europe as far as Finland and North Africa. Tsunamis as tall as 20 metres (66 ft) swept the coast of North Africa, and struck Martinique and Barbados across the Atlantic. A three-metre (ten-foot) tsunami hit Cornwall on the southern English coast. Galway, on the west coast of Ireland, was also hit, resulting in partial destruction of the "Spanish Arch" section of the city wall.

Economic historian Alvaro Pereira estimated that of Lisbon s population of approximately 200,000 people, some 30,000-40,000 were killed. Another 10,000 may have lost their lives in Morocco. The total death toll in Portugal, Spain and Morocco from the earthquake and the resulting fires and tsunami was estimated at 40,000 to 50,000 people. Eighty-five percent of Lisbon s buildings were destroyed, including famous palaces and libraries, as well as most examples of Portugal s distinctive 16th-century Manueline architecture. Several buildings that had suffered little earthquake damage were destroyed by the subsequent fire. The new Opera House, opened just six months before (named the Phoenix Opera), burned to the ground. The Royal Ribeira Palace, which stood just beside the Tagus river in the modern square of Terreiro do Paço, was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami. Inside, the 70,000-volume royal library as well as hundreds of works of art,

. At least 34 looters were hanged in the chaotic aftermath of the disaster. As a warning against looting, King Joseph I of Portugal ordered gallows to be constructed in several parts of the city.
Paintings by Titian, Rubens, and Correggio, were lost. The royal archives disappeared together with detailed historical records of explorations by Vasco da Gama and other early navigators. The earthquake also damaged major churches in Lisbon, namely the Lisbon Cathedral, the Basilicas of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, São Vicente de Fora, and the Misericordia Church. The Royal Hospital of All Saints (the largest public hospital at the time) in the Rossio square was consumed by fire and hundreds of patients burned to death. The tomb of national hero Nuno Álvares Pereira was also lost. Visitors to Lisbon may still walk the ruins of the Carmo Convent, which were preserved to remind Lisboners of the destruction. In the aftermath of the earthquake, people suffered from severe hunger, leading some to practise cannibalism.