The 1921 Massawa earthquake took place off the coast of

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, on August 14 with a moment magnitude of 6.1 and a

Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...

of VIII (''Severe''). The first aftershock after the initial earthquake was of similar magnitude. Significant damage was caused to the harbour at Massawa with a number of deaths reported. Aftershocks were felt as far away as

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

and

Dekemhare Dekemhare (; sometimes spelled ''Decamare,'' Italian: ''Decamerè'') is a town in Eritrea in the Southern Region, southeast of the national capital of Asmara. During the Italian colonial period, the town became a major center of industry and agr ...

References

Massawa 1921 Massawa Earthquakes in the 20th century History of the Red Sea 1921 disasters in Africa {{Eritrea-stub

See also

References