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1992 Cairo earthquake

Coordinates: 29°46′41″N 31°08′38″E / 29.778°N 31.144°E / 29.778; 31.144
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1992 Cairo earthquake
Rubble from falling parapets litters a Cairo street in the aftermath of the 1992 Dahshur (Egypt) Earthquake.
UTC time1992-10-12 13:09:55
ISC event267175
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local date12 October 1992
Local time3:09:55 pm EET
Magnitude5.8 mb
Depth22 km (14 mi)
Epicenter29°46′41″N 31°08′38″E / 29.778°N 31.144°E / 29.778; 31.144
TypeNormal
Areas affectedGreater Cairo, the Delta, northern Upper Egypt
Max. intensityMMI VIII (Severe)
Casualties561 dead, 12,392 injured

The 1992 Cairo earthquake, also known as the Dahshur earthquake, occurred at 15:09 local time (13:09 UTC) on 12 October, with an epicenter in the Western Desert near Dahshur, Giza, 35 km (22 mi) south of Egypt's capital and most populous city, Cairo. The earthquake had a magnitude of either 5.8[1][2][3] or 5.9,[4][5][6][7] but was unusually destructive for its size, causing 561 deaths and injuring 12,392 people.[8] It also made over 30,000 families homeless in tens of cities and villages across 16 governorates, in Greater Cairo, the Delta, and northern Upper Egypt. It was the most damaging seismic event to affect Egypt since 1847.[1]

Geology

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Cairo is sited within a diffuse zone of faulting that transfers extension from the Gulf of Suez Rift to the Manzala rift beneath the Nile delta.[9]

Damage

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The areas of greatest damage were in Old Cairo, Bulaq and southwards along the Nile as far as Girza, on the west bank.[4] 350 buildings were completely destroyed and 9,000 other severely damaged. 216 mosques and 350 schools were badly damaged and about 50,000 people made homeless.[4] Most of the severe damage was confined to older masonry structures and particularly those built of adobe. Liquefaction was reported from areas near the epicenter.[1] It caused the collapse of a multi-storey apartment building in Heliopolis, killing 79 people. Fortunately, many of the inhabitants were outside of the building at the time of the event. It was later revealed that many additional stories were added to the building illegally and the ground floor/basement had been opened up to accommodate community amenities, including a laundry.[10]

The high number of deaths and injuries (561 and 12,392 respectively) was partly due to the amount of panic caused by the earthquake in Cairo itself.[4] Damage was reported to have affected 212 out of a total of 560 historic monuments in the Cairo area.[11] A large block fell from the Great Pyramid of Giza.[4]

Earthquake characteristics

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Isoseismal map for the 1992 Cairo earthquake

The earthquake was felt throughout most of northern Egypt, in Alexandria, Port Said and as far south as Asyut, and in southern Israel.[4] The calculated focal mechanism suggests that this event originated on a WNW-ESE or W-E trending normal fault with a small strike-slip component.[12] The aftershocks extended about 11 km (6.8 mi) to the south-east of the main shock epicentre, indicating unidirectional rupture propagation. The estimated fault rupture length was also 11 km (6.8 mi).[12] The earthquake consisted of two sub-events, the second located about 27 km (17 mi) south-east of the first.[13]

Response

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The government was criticized for not doing much to respond. On the other hand, Islamic fundamentalist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood stepped in to provide aid.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Fergany, Elsayed A.; Sawada, Sumio (1 January 2009). "Estimation of Ground Motion at Damaged Area During 1992 Cairo Earthquake Using Empirical Green's Functions". Seismological Research Letters. 80 (1): 81–88. Bibcode:2009SeiRL..80...81F. doi:10.1785/gssrl.80.1.81. ISSN 0895-0695. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  2. ^ Omar, Khaled; Attia, Mohsen; Fergany, El Sayed; Hassoup, Awad; Elkhashab, Hussein (June 2013). "Modeling of strong ground motion during the 1992 Cairo earthquake in the urban area northern Greater of Cairo, Egypt". NRIAG Journal of Astronomy and Geophysics. 2 (1): 166–174. Bibcode:2013JAsGe...2..166O. doi:10.1016/j.nrjag.2013.06.019.
  3. ^ Abd el-aal, Abd el aziz Khairy (11 March 2010). "Modelling of seismic hazard at the northeastern part of greater Cairo metropolitan area, Egypt". Journal of Geophysics and Engineering. 7 (1): 75–90. Bibcode:2010JGE.....7...75A. doi:10.1088/1742-2132/7/1/007. ISSN 1742-2132.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "NGDC page on the Cairo earthquake". Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  5. ^ Thenhaus, P.C.; Celebi, M.; Sharp, R.V. (1993). "The October 12, 1992, Dahshur, Egypt, Earthquake". Earthquakes & Volcanoes (USGS). 24 (1): 27–41. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  6. ^ Moustafa, Sayed S.R.; Takenaka, Hiroshi (1 September 2009). "Stochastic ground motion simulation of the 12 October 1992 Dahshour earthquake". Acta Geophysica. 57 (3): 636–656. Bibcode:2009AcGeo..57..636M. doi:10.2478/s11600-009-0012-y. ISSN 1895-7455. S2CID 140652478. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  7. ^ El-Sayed, Attia; Arvidsson, Ronald; Kulhánek, Ota (1998). "The 1992 Cairo earthquake: A case study of a small destructive event". Journal of Seismology. 2 (4): 293–302. Bibcode:1998JSeis...2..293E. doi:10.1023/A:1009717023043. S2CID 129754820. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. ^ "رئيس الوزراء فى حديث"للاهرام"حول قضايا الساعه:شقه جديده بالمرافق خلال هذا الشهر لكل من انهار مسكنه". Al-Ahram. 1 November 1992. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  9. ^ Bosworth, William; Huchon, Philippe; McClay, Ken (October 2005). "The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Basins". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 43 (1–3): 334–378. Bibcode:2005JAfES..43..334B. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.07.020. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Earthquake Vulnerability in the Middle East" DEGG, MARTIN, and JACQUELINE HOMAN. Geography, vol. 90, no. 1, 2005, pp. 54–66. JSTOR. Accessed 16 July 2021.
  11. ^ Sykora, D.; Look, D.; Croci, G.; Karaesman, E.; Karaesmen, E. (1993). "NCEER-93-0016: Reconnaissance of Damage to Historic Monuments in Cairo, Egypt Following the October 12, 1992 Dahshur Earthquake". Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  12. ^ a b Hussein, H.M. (1999). "Source process of the October 12, 1992 Cairo earthquake" (PDF). Annali di Geofisica. 42 (4): 665–674. doi:10.4401/ag-3746. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  13. ^ Hussein, H.M.; Korrat I.M. & Abdl Fattah A.K. (1996). "The October 12, 1992 Cairo earthquake a complex multiple shock". Bulletin of the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering. 30: 9–21. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  14. ^ "Muslim Groups Take Lead in Cairo Quake Relief : Egypt: Mosques house and feed the homeless. Disappointment in government assistance is expressed". Retrieved 25 July 2021.
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