Near East earthquakes of 1759

Near East earthquakes of 1759

Oct 30 Nov 25
Local date	1759
Duration	October 30, ~ 1 minute[1] November 25, ~ 2 minutes[1]
Magnitude	October 30, 6.6 Ms November 25, 7.4 Ms
Epicenter	October 30, 33°06′N 35°36′E / 33.1°N 35.6°E / 33.1; 35.6 November 25, 33°42′N 35°54′E / 33.7°N 35.9°E / 33.7; 35.9
Fault	Yammouneh[2]
Areas affected	Ottoman Syria
Max. intensity	MMI VIII (Severe) – MMI IX (Violent)
Aftershocks	3 months[3]
Casualties	2,000[4] – 20,000[3]

The Near East earthquakes of 1759 were a series of devastating earthquakes that shook a large portion of the Levant in October and November of that year. This geographical crossroads in the Eastern Mediterranean were at the time under the rule of the Ottoman Empire (now includes portions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel and Palestine). The ruins of Baalbek, a settlement in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon east of the Litani River, were badly damaged. These 1759 events, along with the earlier 1202 Syria earthquake, are likely the strongest historical earthquakes in the region.^[4]