| Jamaica's Earthquake History |
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Although Jamaica is in a seismically active region, seismologists claim that large earthquakes are comparatively rare through usually of relatively high intensity. The majority of earthquakes are minor ones of low intensity. The island experiences much less seismic activity than the Eastern Caribbean or Central American region. Jamaica’s reputation for earthquakes rests on two major disasters, those of 1692 and 1907.
About 200 earthquakes are located in and around Jamaica per year most of which are minor, having magnitudes less than 4.0. The most seismically active areas are the Blue Mountain block in eastern Jamaica and the Montpelier-Newmarket belt in western Jamaica. Other areas of notable seismicity include the near offshore south-west of Black River on the south coast, and offshore Buff Bay on the north–east coast.
Jamaica is associated with the Gonave micro-plate, which is demarcated by the Oriente Fracture Zone (OFZ) to the north, the Walton (WFZ) and Enriquillo Fault Zones (EFZ) to the south and the Cayman Spreading Centre (CSC) to the west. The OFZ, spanning a distance of over 1000 kilometres, from south of Grand Cayman to the north coast of Haiti, is known to be a left-lateral strike-slip fault which means there is a relative westerly drift of Cuba (on the North American Plate) with respect to Jamaica.
Earthquake of 1692
Earthquakes in the area were not uncommon, but were usually rather small. In 1688, a tremor had toppled three homes. But four years later, on June 7 1692, within the space of less than 30 seconds, a massive earthquake devastates the infamous town of Port Royal in Jamaica, killing thousands. The strong tremors, soil liquefaction and a tsunami brought on by the earthquake combined to destroy the town, putting half of Port Royal under 40 feet of water. The HMS Swan was carried from the harbor and deposited on top of a building on the island. It turned out to be a refuge for survivors.
On the main island, Spanish Town was also demolished. Even the north side of the island experienced great tragedy. Fifty people were killed in a landslide. In all, about 3,000 people lost their lives on June 7. There was little respite in the aftermath--widespread looting began that evening and thousands more died in the following weeks due to sickness and injury. The city of Kingston was built and remains to this day the largest city in Jamaica.
What was left of Port Royal later became an important British Naval station, but the town never regained its former prosperity. Disaster dogged it: a fire in 1703, hurricanes in 1721, 1726 and 1744, another disastrous fire in 1815, and an earthquake in 1907. In modern times, the hurricane of 1951 left only 10 out of 260 modern buildings standing. After this, the government rebuilt the town supervised by a statutory body known as the Brotherhood of Port Royal. Today it is little more than a fishing village with perennial (unrealized) plans to restore it as a cultural centre and tourist attraction.
Port Royal remains a historical treasure chest with most of its archaeological riches still buried in the sand or beneath the sea.
In 1744 October, 20, Jamaica suffered from storm and earth-quake. Port Royal and Kingston were severely affected and Savanna-la-mar was destroyed. Twelve persons were drowned.
Earthquake of 1907
On 14 January 1907, the capital, Kingston, was severely damaged by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake and following fires that burnt 56 acres of the city. The earthquake destroyed a large part of Kingston. Within twenty minutes fire blazed through the streets of Kingston and lasted for up to four days in many cases finishing off what the earthquake had started. It was also not long before rampant looting broke out and armed guards had to be posted throughout the city.
Days later Kingston resembled a ghost town empty, silent, dark and broken. £2,000,000 of damage was assessed and over 800 people lost their lives. Only a few received proper burial. Some were buried in large trenches in the May Pen Cemetery and some were burnt without ceremony.
Fortunately within the next few months there was no rain. In Kingston with many people forced to live in the open air, the fear that rain would lead to the outbreak of epidemics like typhoid, dysentery or even the plague was very real. Port Royal, located six miles to the south of Kingston suffered moderate damage.
In March 1957, fifty years later, another earthquake, the heaviest since 1907, struck the island. This time the western side was the most affected. Luckily, few lives were lost but there was severe property damage the St. James Parish Church was wrecked and in Port Royal a 180m long strip of coast disappeared beneath the sea.
Jamaica itself is traversed by a number of geological faults that feature Quaternary left-lateral offsets. In eastern Jamaica there is the Plantain Garden fault that runs into the Yallahs, Blue Mountain, Wagwater and Silver Hill faults, which together control the tectonics of the Blue Mountain block. In western Jamaica the topography is influenced by the South Coast, Spur Tree and Montpelier-Newmarket faults that exhibit large downthrows to the south and west, respectively. Earthquakes occurring across the country today predominantly exhibit strike-slip faulting, which mirrors the movements along the OFZ.
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