1693 Sicily earthquake
1693 earthquake in Sicily / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about 1693 Sicily earthquake?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on 11 January at around 21:00 local time.[1] This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on 9 January.[7] The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, the most powerful in Italian recorded history,[8] and a maximum intensity of XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale, destroying at least 70 towns and cities, seriously affecting an area of 5,600 square kilometres (2,200 sq mi) and causing the death of about 60,000 people.[5][6]
Local date | 11 January 1693 (1693-01-11) |
---|---|
Local time | 21:00[1][2] |
Duration | 4 minutes |
Magnitude | 7.4 Mw |
Epicenter | 37.3°N 15.1°E / 37.3; 15.1[3] The exact location of the epicentre remains uncertain |
Areas affected | Southern Italy, notably Sicily, and Malta[4] |
Max. intensity | MMI XI (Extreme)[5] |
Tsunami | 5–10-metre high waves devastated the coastal villages on the Ionian Sea and in the Straits of Messina. (Ambraseys-Sieberg intensity V tsunami) |
Foreshocks | A magnitude 6.2 on 9 January[5] |
Casualties | 60,000 deaths[6] |
The earthquake was followed by tsunamis that devastated the coastal villages on the Ionian Sea and in the Straits of Messina.[9] Almost two-thirds of the entire population of Catania were killed.[5] The epicentre of the disaster was probably close to the coast, possibly offshore, although the exact position remains unknown. The extent and degree of destruction caused by the earthquake resulted in the extensive rebuilding of the towns and cities of southeastern Sicily, particularly the Val di Noto, in a homogeneous late Baroque style, described as "the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe".[10]
According to a contemporary account of the earthquake by Vincentius Bonajutus, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, "It was in this country impossible to keep upon our legs, or in one place on the dancing Earth; nay, those that lay along on the ground, were tossed from side to side, as if on a rolling billow."[1]