The 1222 Cyprus earthquake occurred at about 06:15

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on 11 May. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.0–7.5 and triggered a paleotsunami that was recorded in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. The strongest shaking was felt in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

and

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

. Many people died, although there are no estimates for the total number of casualties.

Tectonic setting

The estimated location of the earthquake is on the southwestern coast of Cyprus and is thought to be associated with the Cyprus arc. The Cyprus arc is part of the plate boundary zone that accommodates the motion of the African plate relative to the

Anatolian plate The Anatolian plate is a continental tectonic plate lying under Asiatic part of Turkey, known as Anatolia. Most of the country of Turkey is located on the Anatolian plate. The plate is separated from the Eurasian plate and the Arabian plate ...

. The relative motion of the Anatolian plate is almost entirely westwards relative to the African plate. In the eastern part of the arc, earthquakes are entirely

strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

in character. To the west they show a combination of

thrust fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. I ...

ing and strike-slip. A major NE-SW trending strike-slip structure has been identified just west of Cyprus, that is responsible for larger earthquakes in this area.

Damage

Much damage was caused at Limassol and Nicosia and other parts of the island, but the greatest damage was done at Paphos, where there was great loss of life. Paphos Castle, a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

fort, was destroyed and had to be rebuilt by the Lusignans. A modern excavation at Paphos Castle found the remains of a man who apparently climbed into the castle's main drain to escape the earthquake but was trapped there by falling masonry. The sea retreated from the harbour but returned and flooded the town. A church is said to have fallen, burying the bishop and his congregation. Monks of the

Franciscan order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

abandoned their church in Paphos after the earthquake. The castle of Saranta Kolones, built only 30 years earlier overlooking the harbour, was destroyed by the earthquake. It was never rebuilt, as it was no longer needed to protect the port, which had dried up. The earthquake permanently changed Paphos, rendering the harbour unusable, and moving the shoreline seawards; it no longer had a protected anchorage.

Characteristics

The estimated magnitude for this event is 7.0–7.5 with a maximum estimated felt intensity of IX (''Violent'').

Tectonic setting

Damage

Characteristics

See also

References

Further reading