1303 Crete earthquake

Tectonic setting

The Hellenic arc, the most likely location for this earthquake, is an arcuate tectonic feature related to the subduction of the African plate beneath the Aegean Sea plate. It is one of the most active seismic zones in western Eurasia and has a history of large earthquakes that also affect Egypt.

Damage

The earthquake and the tsunami are recorded as having a devastating impact on Heraklion, Crete. Detailed information is available from reports made by representatives from Heraklion (then Candia) to the controlling Venetian administration, written on the day of the earthquake and twenty days later. They describe the extent of damage to the main public buildings of Candia and castles over the whole island.

The reports mention that most of the victims were women and children, without giving numbers. There was massive flooding at Alexandria. Many ships were destroyed, some of them carried up to 2 mi inland. The port city of Acre, on the Levantine coast, was also affected. Buildings were destroyed and people swept to their deaths.

In Egypt the earthquake caused severe damage in Cairo, dislodging much of the Great Pyramid's white limestone casing and toppling minarets on many mosques. In Alexandria the city walls were mostly destroyed. Most notably, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven Wonders of the World, was badly damaged. Homes in Alexandria collapsed, killing many people. According to Alexis Perrey, the earthquake was felt on the entire Adriatic coast, up to Venice (about 1600 km from Heraklion).

Characteristics

Earthquake

Although the precise location of the epicenter is uncertain, it is generally agreed that the earthquake ruptured the eastern segment of the Hellenic arc somewhere between Crete and Rhodes. The earthquake caused damage over a wide area including Crete, the Peloponnese, Rhodes, Cairo, Acre, Damascus, Antioch, and Cyprus and was felt as far away as Constantinople (1000 km) and possibly Tunis (1500 km). The exact magnitude is unknown but is estimated to have been about 8.0.

Tsunami

Modeling of the tsunami predicts a maximum 9 m run-up at Alexandria, with about a 40-minute delay from the time of the earthquake to the arrival of the first wave in Egypt.

References

References

1. [[National Geophysical Data Center]]/ World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
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5. Darwish, M.. (2018). "Facing the Challenges in Structural Engineering". Springer.
6. (October 2013). "Integrity assessment of the Pharos of Alexandria during the 1303 CE earthquake". Engineering Failure Analysis.
7. (1999). "Historical seismicity of Egypt". Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica Hungarica.
8. Kišpatić, Mijo. (1891). "Potresi u Hrvatskoj". Tisak Dioničke tiskare.
9. Papazachos, B. C.. (1996). "Large seismic faults in the Hellenic arc". Annali di Geofisica.
10. Hamouda, A. Z.. (2006). "Numerical computations of 1303 tsunamigenic propagation towards Alexandria, Egyptian Coast". Journal of African Earth Sciences.