1887 Liguria earthquake

The 1887 Liguria earthquake struck off the coast of Imperia, Italy on the early morning of February 23, 1887 with an estimated moment magnitude of 6.3–7.5 which killed about 600-3000 people. It also generated a tsunami that had a run-up height of 2 meters.[2][3] The widespread damage was said to be so severe that the town of Bussana Vecchia was abandoned by the locals that used to live in the area.[4][5]

1887 Ligurian earthquake
An intensity map of the places that felt the tremor made by Camille Flammarion
UTC time1887-02-23 05:30
Local date23 February 1887
Local time06:30
Magnitude6.3–7.5 Mw
Areas affectedItaly, France
Max. intensityIX (Violent)-X (Extreme)
TsunamiYes, max. run-up height observed 2 meters in Imperia. Another tsunami was generated by a landslide near the French Riviera.[1]
LandslidesYes
Casualties~600-3,000 fatalities

Earthquake

The tremor had a magnitude of between 6.3 and 7.5 Mw along with an intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli scale. The most likely estimate for this earthquake was a 6.9 along a reverse N55°E striking fault which would also explain for the tsunami generated. It was also hypothesized that the tremor was due to the rupture of the 80 km long Northern Ligurian fault system that ran along the coast of the Ligurian Basin.[2][6]

The Italian peninsula observes frequent seismic activity due to its location near numerous fault lines between the convergence of the Adriatic Plate and the Eurasian plate. However the area where the epicenter of the tremor was located does not experience much frequent activity due to being far from major fault lines that can cause these events.

Impact
A destroyed church in Bussana Vecchia

The tremor caused widespread damage along Northwest Italy, particularly in the towns of Imperia and Diano Marina and small towns in the Southeastern coast of France.[7] about 600–3,000 were presumably dead. Most notably in the town of Bussana Vecchia, Sanremo which was completely abandoned and was beyond repair for more than 6 decades, but in the 1960s, a group of artists from around the globe tried to revive the area and were successful, until this day a small population of artists and a few families live in the area as well as cafes and paintings for display.[4][8]

Not much damage was observed along the French Riviera, but another tsunami generated by a landslide rose the death toll in the town of Menton. The Prince of Wales was also visiting the town of Cannes at the time as the royal family urged him to return, however it was hard to evacuate the area due to the use of transportation at the time was by train, some civilians were reported to be leaving still wearing their pajamas due to the early occurrence of the event.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Feb 23, 1887: Earthquake strikes Mediterranean". History. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  2. Larroque, Christophe; Scotti, Oona; Ioualalen, Mansour (2012). "Reappraisal of the 1887 Ligurian earthquake (western Mediterranean) from macroseismicity, active tectonics and tsunami modelling". Geophysical Journal International. 190: 87–104. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2012.05498.x. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  3. "Earthquake strikes Mediterranean — History.com This Day in History — 2/23/1887". 2013-10-05. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  4. EST, David Farley On 12/16/19 at 2:50 PM (2019-12-16). "These abandoned Italian hill towns are being resurrected". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  5. "Balestrino - An Italian Ghost Town Destroyed by Earthquake". World Abandoned. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  6. "Reappraisal of the 1887 Ligurian earthquake (western Mediterranean) from macroseismicity, active tectonics and tsunami modelling". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
  7. Kozák, Jan; Čermák, Vladimír, eds. (2010), "Imperia Earthquake, French/Italian Riviera, 1887", The Illustrated History of Natural Disasters, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 157–158, doi:10.1007/978-90-481-3325-3_35, ISBN 978-90-481-3325-3, retrieved 2021-09-11
  8. e-borghi. "Bussana Vecchia". e-borghi. Retrieved 2021-09-11.

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