1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake took place at 7:15 pm on June 3, 1770, on the Enriquillo fault
near Port-au-Prince
, Saint-Domingue
, the French colony that is now the country of Haiti
.
The earthquake was strong enough to destroy Port-au-Prince, and leveled all the buildings between Lake Miragoâne
and Petit-Goâve, to the west of Port-au-Prince. The Plain of the Cul-de-Sac, a rift valley
under Port-au-Prince that extends eastwards into the Dominican Republic
, experienced extensive soil liquefaction
. The ground under Port-au-Prince liquefied, throwing down all its buildings, including those that had survived the 1751 earthquake. One village, Croix des Bouquets, sank below sea level. Strong shocks were felt in Cap-Haïtien
, about 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) away from the estimated epicenter in the Léogâne Arrondissement
. Some chimneys on the distant island of Jamaica
collapsed. The earthquake generated a tsunami
that came ashore along the Gulf of Gonâve
, and rolled as much as 7.2 kilometres (4.5 mi) inland into the Cul-de-Sac depression, though this might have been confounded with the effects of the liquefaction.
It is estimated that 200 people died in Port-au-Prince in collapsed buildings, including 79 of the 80 people in Port-au-Prince's hospital. The death toll would have been higher, but the earthquake was preceded by a rumbling noise that gave people time to flee their houses before the main tremor, which consisted of two shocks lasting a total of four minutes. Fifty people died in Léogâne. The aftermath of the earthquake saw much more death as thousands of slaves escaped in the chaos, the local economy collapsed and 15,000 slaves died in the subsequent famine. An additional 15,000 people died from what is thought to have been gastrointestinal anthrax
from eating tainted meat bought from Spanish traders.
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone
The Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone is a system of coaxial left lateral-moving strike slip faults which runs along the southern side of the island of Hispaniola, where the Dominican Republic and Haiti are located...
near Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
, the French colony that is now the country of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
.
The earthquake was strong enough to destroy Port-au-Prince, and leveled all the buildings between Lake Miragoâne
Lake Miragoâne
Lake Miragoâne is a lake in Haiti, located one kilometer southeast of the city of Miragoâne. It is one of the largest natural freshwater lakes in the Caribbean. The lake is 12 km long and 25 km² in area.-External links:...
and Petit-Goâve, to the west of Port-au-Prince. The Plain of the Cul-de-Sac, a rift valley
Rift valley
A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault. This action is manifest as crustal extension, a spreading apart of the surface which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion...
under Port-au-Prince that extends eastwards into the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, experienced extensive soil liquefaction
Soil liquefaction
Soil liquefaction describes a phenomenon whereby a saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress, usually earthquake shaking or other sudden change in stress condition, causing it to behave like a liquid....
. The ground under Port-au-Prince liquefied, throwing down all its buildings, including those that had survived the 1751 earthquake. One village, Croix des Bouquets, sank below sea level. Strong shocks were felt in Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
, about 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) away from the estimated epicenter in the Léogâne Arrondissement
Léogâne Arrondissement
Léogâne is an arrondissement in the Ouest Department of Haiti.It has 300,982 inhabitants.Postal codes in the Léogâne Arrondissement start with the number 62.The arondissement consists of the following municipalities:* Léogâne...
. Some chimneys on the distant island of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
collapsed. The earthquake generated a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
that came ashore along the Gulf of Gonâve
Gulf of Gonâve
The Gulf of Gonâve is a large gulf along the western coast of Haiti. Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, is located on the coast of the gulf. Other cities on the gulf coast include Gonaïves, Saint-Marc, Miragoâne, and Jérémie. Several islands are located in the gulf, the largest being Gonâve...
, and rolled as much as 7.2 kilometres (4.5 mi) inland into the Cul-de-Sac depression, though this might have been confounded with the effects of the liquefaction.
It is estimated that 200 people died in Port-au-Prince in collapsed buildings, including 79 of the 80 people in Port-au-Prince's hospital. The death toll would have been higher, but the earthquake was preceded by a rumbling noise that gave people time to flee their houses before the main tremor, which consisted of two shocks lasting a total of four minutes. Fifty people died in Léogâne. The aftermath of the earthquake saw much more death as thousands of slaves escaped in the chaos, the local economy collapsed and 15,000 slaves died in the subsequent famine. An additional 15,000 people died from what is thought to have been gastrointestinal anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
from eating tainted meat bought from Spanish traders.