1759 Near East earthquakes

1759 Near East earthquakes
1759 Near East earthquakes is located in Lebanon
Oct 30
Oct 30
Nov 25
Nov 25
Local date1759
DurationOctober 30, ~ 1 minute[1]
November 25, ~ 2 minutes[1]
MagnitudeOctober 30, 6.6 Ms
November 25, 7.4 Ms
EpicenterOctober 30, 33°06′N 35°36′E / 33.1°N 35.6°E / 33.1; 35.6
November 25, 33°42′N 35°54′E / 33.7°N 35.9°E / 33.7; 35.9
FaultYammouneh[2]
Areas affectedOttoman Syria
Max. intensityMMI VIII (Severe) – MMI IX (Violent)
Aftershocks3 months[3]
Casualties2,000[4] – 20,000[3]

The 1759 Near East earthquakes shook a large portion of the Levant in October and November of that year. This geographical crossroads in the Eastern Mediterranean were at the time under the rule of the Ottoman Empire (now includes portions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel and Palestine). The ruins of Baalbek, a settlement in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon east of the Litani River, were badly damaged. These 1759 events, along with the earlier 1202 Syria earthquake, are likely the strongest historical earthquakes in the region.[4]

  1. ^ a b Kitto 1841, p. xc
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yeats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Kitto 1841, p. xlxxxix
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Daeron_p529 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).