Significant earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system, Hispaniola, 1500-2010: Implications for seismic hazard
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
Links
- More information: Publisher Index Page (via DOI)
- Open Access Version: External Repository
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Historical records indicate frequent seismic activity along the north-east Caribbean plate boundary over the past 500 years, particularly on the island of Hispaniola. We use accounts of historical earthquakes to assign intensities and the intensity assignments for the 2010 Haiti earthquakes to derive an intensity attenuation relation for Hispaniola. The intensity assignments and the attenuation relation are used in a grid search to find source locations and magnitudes that best fit the intensity assignments. Here we describe a sequence of devastating earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system in the eighteenth century. An intensity magnitude MI 6.6 earthquake in 1701 occurred near the location of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the accounts of the shaking in the 1701 earthquake are similar to those of the 2010 earthquake. A series of large earthquakes migrating from east to west started with the 18 October 1751 MI 7.4–7.5 earthquake, probably located near the eastern end of the fault in the Dominican Republic, followed by the 21 November 1751 MI 6.6 earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and the 3 June 1770 MI 7.5 earthquake west of the 2010 earthquake rupture. The 2010 Haiti earthquake may mark the beginning of a new cycle of large earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system after 240 years of seismic quiescence. The entire Enriquillo fault system appears to be seismically active; Haiti and the Dominican Republic should prepare for future devastating earthquakes.
Suggested Citation
Bakun, W.H., Flores, C.H., and ten Brink, U., 2012, Significant earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system, Hispaniola, 1500-2010: Implications for seismic hazard: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 102, no. 1, p. 18-30, https://doi.org/10.1785/0120110077.
ISSN: 1943-3573 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Significant earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system, Hispaniola, 1500-2010: Implications for seismic hazard |
| Series title | Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America |
| DOI | 10.1785/0120110077 |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication Date | February 15, 2012 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Seismological Society of America |
| Publisher location | El Cerrito, CA |
| Contributing office(s) | Earthquake Science Center |
| Description | 13 p. |
| First page | 18 |
| Last page | 30 |
| Country | Dominican Republic |
| Other Geospatial | Hispaniola |