1956 Chim earthquake
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  | |
| UTC time | Doublet earthquake: |
|---|---|
| A: 1956-03-16 19:32:43 | |
| B: 1956-03-16 19:43:31 | |
| ISC event | |
| A: 888079 | |
| B: 888080 | |
| USGS-ANSS | |
| A: ComCat | |
| B: ComCat | |
| Local date | March 16, 1956 |
| Local time | 21:32:43 |
| Magnitude | |
| A: 5.3 Mw | |
| B: 5.5 Mw | |
| Epicenter | 33°47′N 35°35′E / 33.78°N 35.58°E |
| Areas affected | Lebanon |
| Casualties | 136 dead |
The 1956 Chim earthquake was a destructive multiple-shock event that occurred on March 16 in Lebanon along a strand of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system.[1] The epicenter was located in the south of Lebanon in the Chouf District. Six thousand homes were destroyed and another 17,000 were damaged. The number of persons killed was 136.[2]
The DST is a 1,609 km (1,000 mi) long transform fault that runs in a mostly north–south direction from the northern end of the Red Sea along the Jordan Rift Valley to the Taurus Mountains complex in southern Turkey. The left-lateral fault zone marks the boundary of the Arabian plate and the Sinai-Levantine block and consists of multiple parallel faults.[3] As the fault moves through Lebanon and Syria the fault trace follows a restraining bend and splits into several strands that include the Serghaya, Rachaya, and Roum faults, as well as the prominent Yammouneh fault.[4]
