1886 Charleston earthquake

1886 Charleston earthquake

Date	August 31, 1886 (1886-08-31)
Magnitude	7.0 M_w ^[1]
Epicenter	32°54′N 80°00′W / 32.9°N 80.0°W / 32.9; -80.0Coordinates: 32°54′N 80°00′W / 32.9°N 80.0°W / 32.9; -80.0 ^[1]
Type	Unknown
Areas affected	South Carolina United States
Total damage	$5–6 million ^[1]
Max. intensity	X (Extreme) ^[1]
Casualties	60 ^[1]

The 1886 Charleston earthquake occurred at about 9:50 pm on August 31 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The intraplate earthquake caused 60 deaths and between five and six million dollars in damage to 2,000 buildings in the Southeastern United States. It is one of the most powerful and damaging earthquakes to hit the East Coast of the United States. Very little to no historical earthquake activity had occurred, which is unusual for any seismic area.^[2]

Earthquake

Damage from Charleston earthquake of August 31, 1886

The earthquake is estimated to have been 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale with a Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Sandblows were common throughout the affected area due to liquefaction of the soil. Aftershocks continued to be felt for weeks after the event^[3] and minor earthquake activity that still continues in the area today may be a continuation of aftershocks. There were at least sixty fatalities.

It was felt as far away as Boston, Massachusetts to the north, Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the northwest, as far as New Orleans, Louisiana to the west, as far as Cuba to the south, and as far as Bermuda to the east.^[4] It was so severe that outside the immediate area, there was speculation that the Florida peninsula had broken away from North America.^[3]

It is a heavily studied example of an intraplate earthquake. It is believed to have occurred on faults formed during the break-up of Pangaea. Similar faults are found all along the east coast of North America. It is thought that such ancient faults remain active from forces exerted on them by present-day motions of the North American Plate. The exact mechanisms of intraplate earthquakes are a subject of much ongoing research.

One of many "earthquake bolts" found throughout period houses in Charleston

Damage

Within the city almost all of the buildings sustained damage and most had to be torn down and rebuilt. Wires were cut and the railroad tracks were torn apart, cutting residents off from the outside world and vice versa. The damage was assessed to be between five and six million dollars.

Major damage occurred as far away as Tybee Island, Georgia, (more than 60 miles away) and structural damage was reported several hundred miles from Charleston (including central Alabama, central Ohio, eastern Kentucky, southern Virginia and western West Virginia).

The Old White Meeting House near Summerville, Dorchester County, South Carolina was reduced to ruins.^[5]

Aftermath

Earthquake bolts were added to existing unreinforced masonry buildings to add support to the structure without having to demolish the structure due to instability. The bolts pass through the existing masonry walls tying walls on opposite sides of the structure together for stability.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Stover, C.W.; Coffman, J.L. (1993), Seismicity of the United States, 1568–1989 (Revised), U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, pp. 348–351
↑ Bollinger, G. A. (1972), "Historical and recent seismic activity in South Carolina", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (Seismological Society of America) 62 (3): 851–864
1 2 Pickney, Paul (1906), Lessions Learned from the Charleston Quake
↑ Charleston Quake, 1886, USGS
↑ "Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery, Dorchester County (SC Hwy 642, Summerville vicinity)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 5 July 2012.

Sources

Talwani, P.; Cox, J. (1985), "Paleoseismic Evidence for Recurrence of Earthquakes near Charleston, South Carolina", Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 229 (4711): 379–381, doi:10.1126/science.229.4711.379
Tarr, A.C.; Talwani, P.; Rhea, S.; Carver, D.; Amick, D. (1981), "Results of recent South Carolina seismological studies", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (Seismological Society of America) 71 (6): 1883–1902

External links

Earthquakes in the United States

Historical	1638 New Hampshire 1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1755 Cape Ann 1811–12 New Madrid 1812 Wrightwood 1857 Fort Tejon 1865 Memphis 1867 Manhattan, Kansas 1868 Hawaii 1868 Hayward 1872 Lone Pine 1872 North Cascades 1886 Charleston 1887 Sonora 1892 Laguna Salada

20th-century	1906 San Francisco 1906 Aleutian Islands 1909 Wabash River 1915 Pleasant Valley 1916 Irondale 1925 Santa Barbara 1931 Valentine 1933 Long Beach 1935 Helena 1940 El Centro 1940 New Hampshire 1944 Cornwall–Massena 1946 Aleutian Islands 1947 Wisconsin 1948 Desert Hot Springs 1949 Olympia 1952 Kern County 1957 Andreanof Islands 1957 San Francisco 1959 Hebgen Lake 1964 Alaska 1965 Rat Islands 1965 Olympia 1968 Illinois 1969 Santa Rosa 1971 San Fernando 1975 Near Islands 1975 Morris 1975 Hawaii 1979 Coyote Lake 1979 Imperial Valley 1980 Eureka 1983 Coalinga 1983 Borah Peak 1984 Morgan Hill 1986 North Palm Springs 1986 Chalfant Valley 1987 Whittier Narrows 1989 Loma Prieta 1991 Sierra Madre 1992 Cape Mendocino 1992 Landers 1992 Big Bear 1993 Scotts Mills 1993 Klamath Falls 1994 Northridge 1995 Marathon 1996 Duvall 1998 Pymatuning 1999 Hector Mine 2000 Yountville

21st-century	2001 Nisqually 2002 Denali 2003 Alabama 2003 San Simeon 2006 Gulf of Mexico 2006 Hawaii 2007 Alum Rock 2007 Andreanof Islands 2008 Illinois 2008 Chino Hills 2010 Eureka 2010 Illinois 2010 Baja California 2010 Indiana 2011 Colorado 2011 Virginia 2011 Oklahoma 2014 Aleutian Islands 2014 Southeast Alaska 2014 South Napa

Swarms	2001 Enola 2008 Reno 2010–11 Guy-Greenbrier 2012 Brawley 2009–16 Oklahoma

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, February 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.