Many evidence has survived of destructive earthquakes that occurred several millennia ago. They often became the reason that entire cities disappeared from the map, and the number of victims amounted to tens of thousands of people.
There are “troubled” regions on the territory of our country. This was reminded of the earthquake in Crimea on May 13, 2016.
Causes
According to experts, on the site between Gurzuf and Yalta, in the Black Sea, there is a zone where the epicenters of Crimean earthquakes are most often observed. Their foci, as a rule, are located 10-40 km from the coast. At the same time, they are recorded at a depth of 200-2000 m, on a steep part of the slope of the Black Sea basin. It is there that the sections of the earth's crust are in contact, making opposite vertical movements. They occur unevenly and are accompanied by earthquakes.
Another reason for the occurrence of tremors in the Crimea is the rise of mountains associated with the promotion of the seabed beneath them. Many millions of years ago, as a result of such processes, Pilyaki, Sharha, Ayu-Dag, Kastel and others were formed, and the most powerful catastrophe caused the explosion of the Karadag volcano.
Another line of the most powerful latitudinal fault passes along the line "Simferopol-Bakhchisaray." Traces of ancient earthquakes in the form of deposits of igneous rocks in numerous quarries are also visible in this zone.
Seismic situation
At the moment, various physical and chemical processes continue to occur in the earth's crust under the Crimean peninsula and under the bottom of the Black Sea.
Since as a result of powerful tectonic movements on the peninsula, organic materials (trees, marsh peat, lake silt, etc.) fell into faults in the earth's crust, fermentation continues at great depths, and the resulting slurry is thrown out through mud volcanoes.
On the territory of Crimea, earthquakes are also felt, the foci of which are many hundreds or thousands of kilometers away from the peninsula. For example, over the past decades, an “echo” of 2-4 points was observed due to earthquakes in Romania, Iraq and Turkey.
The most destructive earthquakes that occurred in Crimea before the 18th century
It is believed that the first written mention of such a natural cataclysm is a record in the book of Paul Oroziy “Against the Gentiles”, written in the 5th century BC. e. In it, he reports that in 63 BC. e. So strong an earthquake happened in Crimea that many people died and entire cities were destroyed.
A similar catastrophe occurred in Chersonesos in September-October of 480 AD. An inscription found on the ruins of the city recalls this event.
The following strong earthquakes were recorded in 1292 and in 1471. In addition, in the work of the Byzantine Georgy Kedrin, “History”, it refers to a natural disaster that occurred in 1341, when, after the tremors, the peninsula was flooded up to 10 versts (inland from the coast). Apparently, the epicenter was at sea, which caused a very high wave.
Earthquakes in Crimea in the 18-19th centuries
Since the beginning of the 18th century, more detailed descriptions of seismic phenomena have been preserved. For example, a Russian naturalist of German origin P. Pallas gave a detailed description of the earthquakes of the 1790s and 1793s, and P. Sumarokov left detailed evidence about the tremors recorded in 1802. Moreover, the latter observed them in Sevastopol, where the power of the cataclysm amounted to 6 points.
The inhabitants of the peninsula especially remembered the night earthquake in Crimea in 1838, which was felt not only in the settlements of the South Coast, but also in Simferopol.
She also a catastrophe occurred in 1869. Its epicenter was near Foros, it damaged the medieval Genoese buildings, causing a panic among the population.
Seismic disasters at the beginning of the 20th century
The first sufficiently strong earthquake was recorded in January 1902. Fortunately, it did not cause casualties and destruction. Tremors were also noted on May 18, 1908. In addition, in the documents of the archive of the Chancellery of the Tauride Governor, there is a record of an earthquake with a shaking force of 5-6 points, which was observed on October 24, 1908.
A lot of evidence has been preserved about the disaster that happened on December 26, 1919. This earthquake in Crimea was accompanied by a storm of extraordinary strength. It caused damage to the Yalta port and damage to the telegraph network.
The first earthquake in Crimea in 1927
During the summer and autumn, increased seismic activity was observed in the region. At the time of the earthquake, which took place at 13 hours 21 minutes on June 26, 1927, the fishermen noticed that in clear weather the sea seemed to boil, and then a loud noise was heard. He was so loud that he stunned those who bathed.
The earthquake in Crimea in 1927 was preceded by the appearance of a long strip of foam stretching across the coast, in the bay between Cape Plaka and Ayu-Dag.
As a result of the shocks, large landslides were recorded in the vicinity of Sevastopol, where cracks appeared in many houses. In addition, the buildings of one of the temples and the post office were damaged. The panic began, and tourists began to hastily leave the resorts of the peninsula. As the newspapers of that time reported, the total amount of losses exceeded 1 million rubles.
The most powerful earthquake in Crimea
None of the described natural disasters can be compared in terms of the degree of damage to what happened on the peninsula on the night of September 11-12, 1927. The epicenter was located south of Yalta, under the seabed, and was extended along the coast. It was established that the second earthquake in Crimea in 1927 had a magnitude of 9 points.
Its first signs were noticed by locals and vacationers already at about 8 o’clock in the evening. In particular, peasants and collective farmers noticed that pets became noticeably worried: horses neighing and tried to escape from the stables, cows mooed constantly, and dogs and cats tried to stay close to the owners.
Fishermen who went on night fishing heard a rumble at sea in the area between Sudak and Alushta. In addition, they were frightened by the "boiling" of the sea, and at midnight in all the settlements along the coast, dogs howled. 15 minutes after midnight, there was a strong roar, the earth hesitated. The second shock occurred 10 seconds after the first, and after it there were several more oscillations of the earth's firmament. The sea first moved offshore, and then fell on the sand in a high wave. In the mountains there was a crash of landslides.
This is the strongest earthquake in the Crimea, to which Petrov-Vodkin dedicated one of his paintings, caused a lot of damage. In Alushta, the Genoese tower and several hotels were damaged, in Alupka - a mosque and the Vorontsov Palace. Nearly 70 percent of buildings were damaged in the vicinity of Yalta, and in the city itself - the Yalta and Russia hotels, as well as residential buildings.
