List of earthquakes in Cuba

Map showing regional tectonic setting of the Oriente fault zone

Cuba is located in an area with several active fault systems which produce on average about 2000 seismic events each year.[1] While most registered seismic events pass unnoticed, the island has been struck by a number of destructive earthquakes over the past four centuries, including several major quakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or above.

Approximately 70% of seismic activity in Cuba emanates from the Oriente fault zone, located in the Bartlett-Cayman fault system which runs along the south-eastern coast of Cuba and marks the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate.[2] The 12 currently active faults in Cuba also include the Cauto-Nipe, Cochinos and Nortecubana faults.[2] Destructive earthquakes originating from the Oriente fault occurred in 1766 (MI= 7.6), 1852 (MI = 7.2) and 1932 (Ms = 6.75).[3] Some studies suggest there is a high probability the Oriente fault will produce a magnitude 7 earthquake in the near future.[4]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Notable earthquakes in recent Cuban history include the following:

Name Date Epicentre M Intensity Depth Notes Deaths
1578 Cuba earthquake August 1578
 Santiago de Cuba[1] 6.8 VIII 30 km Magnitude estimated at 6.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VIII EMS-98.[1]
1580 Cuba earthquake 1580-12-19
 Santiago de Cuba [5]
1632 Cuba earthquake October 1632
 Santiago de Cuba [6]
1675 Cuba earthquake 1675-02-11
 Santiago de Cuba [1][7] 5.8 VII 30 km Magnitude estimated at 5.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98.[1]
1678 Cuba earthquake 1678-02-11
14:59		 Santiago de Cuba [7] 6.8 VIII 30 km Magnitude estimated at 6.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VIII EMS-98.[1]
1679 Cuba earthquake 1679-02-11
 Santiago de Cuba [7]
1682 Cuba earthquake 1682
 Santiago de Cuba [7] 5.8 VII 30 km Magnitude estimated at 5.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98.[1]
1693 Cuba earthquake July 1693
 Havana[8] "1,500 houses thrown down"
1757 Cuba earthquake 1757-12-14
 Santiago de Cuba [9]
1766 Cuba earthquake 1766-06-11
05:14		 Santiago de Cuba [10] 7.6 MI [3] IX 35 km Magnitude estimated at 7.6 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at IX EMS-98.[1] 120
1826 Cuba earthquake 1826-09-18
09:26		 Santiago de Cuba [11] 5.8 VII 30 km Magnitude estimated at 5.8 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98.[1]
1842 Cuba earthquake 1842-07-07
 Santiago de Cuba[1] 6.0 VII 30 km Magnitude estimated at 6.0 ML on the Richter magnitude scale, intensity at VII EMS-98.[1]
1852 Cuba earthquake 1852-08-20
14:05 UTC		 Santiago de Cuba [10][12] 7.2 MI [3] IX 30 km Intensity estimated at IX EMS-98,[1] with 26 heavy aftershocks. Caused severe damage to churches and other buildings in Santiago de Cuba, as well as landslides in the Sierra Maestra region. Shaking felt in the whole of eastern Cuba, up to the islands of Jamaica and Hispaniola.[13]
1852 Cuba earthquake (November) 1852-11-26
08:37 GMT		 Santiago de Cuba, Sierra Maestra[1][14] 7.0 VIII 35 km
1858 Cuba earthquake 1858-01-28
22:04		 Santiago de Cuba[1] 6.5 VII 30 km
1880 Cuba earthquake 1880-01-23
04:39		 San Cristóbal/Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río) [1][15][16] 6.0 VIII 15 km A series of severe shock waves originating from western Cuba were also felt in the town of Key West (Florida), and included a strong earthquake on 23 January 1880 in San Cristóbal, Pinar del Río at 4 a.m.[16]
1903 Cuba earthquake 1903-09-22
08:09		 Santiago de Cuba[1] 5.7 VII 30 km
1906 Cuba earthquake 1906-06-22
07:09		 Santiago de Cuba[1] 6.2 VII 30 km
1914 Cuba earthquake 1914-02-28
05:19		 Gibara[1] 6.2 VII 32 km
1914 Cuba earthquake 1914-12-25
05:19		 Santiago de Cuba[1] 6.7 VII 30 km
1932 Cuba earthquake 1932-02-03
 20°00′00″N 75°48′00″W / 20.000°N 75.800°W / 20.000; -75.800
Santiago de Cuba [17]		 6.75 mb[3] VIII Intensity estimated at VIII EMS-98.[1] 8[17] – 1500[18] deaths, 300 injured. 80% of buildings in Santiago de Cuba affected.,[17] with damage totaling 15 million Pesos.[13] 8
1947 Cuba earthquake 1947-08-07
00:40:20 hrs		 19°45′N 75°19′W / 19.75°N 75.32°W / 19.75; -75.32

Santiago de Cuba [19]

 6.8 VIII 50 km Magnitude estimated at 6.8 ML and intensity VIII EMS-98.[1]
1992 Cuba earthquake 1992-05-25
16:55:04 UTC		 19°36′47″N 77°52′19″W / 19.613°N 77.872°W / 19.613; -77.872
Cabo Cruz, Pilón–Manzanillo[20]		 6.9 Ms[21] VII 23 km A strong earthquake struck the Cabo Cruz sector, leaving 40 people injured and more than 820 buildings damaged in the Pilon-Manzanillo area.[22] -
M = Magnitude on the Richter magnitude scale (ML), except where noted

Intensity= Intensity on the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98), which is somewhat similar to the Modified Mercalli scale (MM)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas, 2009
  2. 1 2 Cotilla, 2007
  3. 1 2 3 4 Alvarez 1999:2
  4. ↑ Rubio, 1985
  5. ↑ Milne, 1912: 30
  6. ↑ Milne, 1912: 32
  7. 1 2 3 4 Milne, 1912: 36
  8. ↑ Milne, 1912: 37
  9. ↑ Milne, 1912: 44
  10. 1 2 Cotilla, 2003
  11. ↑ Milne, 1912: 54
  12. ↑ Milne, 1912: 62
  13. 1 2 ONE, 2006
  14. ↑ Milne 1912: 63
  15. ↑ Milne 1912: 80
  16. 1 2 "Florida. Earthquake History". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  17. 1 2 3 "Significant Earthquake". National Geophysical Data Center. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  18. ↑ Earthquake in Cuba. 1500 Deaths reported. The Sidney Morning Herald, Feb. 4, 1932.
  19. ↑ A Chronological History of the U.S. Navy Cruiser U.S.S. LITTLE ROCK
  20. ↑ USGS. "Significant Earthquakes of the World, 1992". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  21. ↑ Pierrot et al, 1998
  22. ↑ Earthquake in Cuba Injures 40 and Destroys 100 Homes

Other sources

  • Alvarez, Leonardo; Giuliano F. Panza; Franco Vaccari; Bertha E. Gonzalez (December 1999), Modelling of seismic ground motion in Santiago de Cuba city from earthquakes in Oriente fault seismic zone, Trieste/Miramare: The Abdus Salara International Centre for Theoretical Physics
  • Blanco Moreno, Jesús; Joaquín Proenza Fernández (2000). "Sistematización tectonoestratigráfica de Cuba centro oriental". Revista Minería y Geología. XVII (1): 35–45. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  • Calais, E.; J. Perrot; B. Mercier de Lépinay (1997). "Tectonic and Kinematic Regime along the Northern Caribbean Plate Boundary: New Insights from Broad-band Modeling of the May 25, 1992, Ms = 6.9 Cabo Cruz, Cuba, Earthquake". Pure and Applied Geophysics. 149 (3): 475–487. Bibcode:1997PApGe.149..475P. doi:10.1007/s000240050036. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  • Calais, E.; J. Perrot; B. Mercier de Lépinay (1998). "Strike-slip tectonics and seismicity along the northern Caribbean plate boundary from Cuba to Hispaniola" (PDF). Geological Society of America Special Papers. Geological Society of America. 326 (326): 125–169. doi:10.1130/0-8137-2326-4.125. ISBN 0-8137-2326-4. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  • Cotilla Rodriguez, M.O. (2003). "The Santiago de Cuba earthquake of 11 June 1766: Some new insights" (PDF). Geofísica Internacional. 42 (4): 589–602. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  • Cotilla Rodriguez, M.O.; Franzke, H.J.; Córdoba Barba, D. (June 2007). "Seismicity and seismoactive faults of Cuba". Russian Geology and Geophysics. 48 (6): 505–522. Bibcode:2007RuGG...48..505C. doi:10.1016/j.rgg.2006.08.004. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  • Lander, James F. (1997). "Caribbean Tsunamis: An initial history" (PDF). In Ahmad, Rafi. Natural hazards and hazard management in the Greater Caribbean and Latin America. 3. Kingston: Unit for Disaster Studies, University of the West Indies. pp. 1–18. ISBN 976-41-0115-1.
  • Milne, John (1912). A catalogue of destructive earthquakes, A.D. 7 to A.D. 1899. London: British Association for Advancement of Science. Seismological Committee.
  • Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas (ONE) (2006). "4. Desastres naturales". Compendio de Estadísticas del Medio Ambiente de Cuba, 1990–2004 (PDF). Havana: Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas.
  • Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas (ONE) (2009). "Terremotos fuertes reportados en Cuba". Anuario Estadístico de Cuba 2008. Havana: Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas.
  • Rubio, M. (1985). The assessment of seismic hazard for the Republic of Cuba. Prague: Ph.D. Thesis, Institute of Geophysics, Science Academy of Czechoslovakia.
  • USGS. "Significant Earthquakes of the World, 1992". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
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