Monday, August 9, 2010

1755 Lisbon earthquake


1755 Lisbon earthquake
Date1 November 1755 (1755-11)
Magnitude9.0 Mw
Epicenter locationLisbon, Kingdom of Portugal and northern Morocco
Countries or regions affectedKingdom of Portugal, Kingdom of Spain, Morocco
Casualtiesbetween 10,000 and 100,000

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami and fires, which caused near-total destruction of Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and adjoining areas. Geologists today estimate the Lisbon earthquake approached magnitude 9 on the moment magnitude scale, with an epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km (120 mi) west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent. Estimates place the death toll in Lisbon alone between 10,000 and 100,000 people, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history.

http://world-worst-disasters.blogspot.com/
The earthquake accentuated political tensions in the Kingdom of Portugal and profoundly disrupted the country's eighteenth-century colonial ambitions. The event was widely discussed and dwelt upon by European Enlightenment philosophers, and inspired major developments in theodicy and in the philosophy of the sublime. As the first earthquake studied scientifically for its effects over a large area, it led to the birth of modern seismology and earthquake engineering.

No comments:

Post a Comment