1953 Paphos earthquake
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  Paphos  | |
| UTC time | 1953-09-10 04:06:04 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 891997 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | 10 September 1953 |
| Local time | 06:05 EET |
| Magnitude | 6.5 Ms 6.3 Mw |
| Epicenter | 34°44′28″N 32°20′06″E / 34.741°N 32.335°E |
| Areas affected | British Cyprus |
| Total damage | 33,000 buildings damaged |
| Max. intensity | MMI X (Extreme) |
| Tsunami | Yes |
| Casualties | 40 dead 100 injured |
The 1953 Paphos earthquake struck British Cyprus (present day Cyprus) on the morning of 10 September, at 06:05 EET. It had a magnitude of Ms 6.5 on the surface-wave magnitude scale, and had a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.[1] The epicenter of this earthquake was situated off the island's west coast, near the city of Paphos. At least 40 people died and 100 were injured. It was also felt in Rhodes, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Kastellorizo.[2]
Cyprus is wedged in a complex zone of interaction between the Anatolian (which part of the larger Eurasian plate) and African plate. These two plates are colliding along the Cyprus Arc, a plate boundary that runs south of the island. This subduction zone is offset by a small transform fault known as the Paphos Transform Fault. The plate boundary, coupled with the Dead Sea Transform and East Anatolian Fault accommodates motion of the African and Arabian plates.[3] This has resulted in moderately destructive, mid-range earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.1–7.5 in 1222 which caused great devastation to the island and generated a tsunami.
Earthquake
The mainshock was associated with shallow normal faulting. Seismologists Nicholas Ambraseys and Robin Adams derived instrumental and macroseismic information to reveal two similarly sized mainshocks. These earthquakes were separated in time by eight seconds with epicenters 50 km (31 mi) apart. Their surface-wave magnitudes were Ms 6.0 and 6.1, respectively. Global earthquake catalogs have only listed one mainshock, reliably recorded by 198 stations.[4]
