1068 Near East earthquake

1068 Near East earthquake

Cairo Jerusalem Alexandria
Local date	18 March and 29 May, 1068[1]
Local time	Morning
Magnitude	≥Mw 7.0[2]
Epicenter	29°30′N 34°57′E / 29.5°N 34.95°E / 29.5; 34.95[3]
Areas affected	Near East
Total damage	Extreme[3]
Max. intensity	MMI IX (Violent) [3]
Casualties	~20,000[4]

Two major earthquakes occurred in the Near East on 18 March and 29 May, AD 1068. The two earthquakes are often amalgamated by contemporary sources.^[1] The first earthquake had its epicentre somewhere in the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula around Tabuk, while the second was most damaging in the city of Ramla in Palestine, some 500 km to the northwest.^[1]

The March earthquake affected the southern portion of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system. The combined events were responsible for an estimated 20,000 deaths, of which some 15,000 occurred in Ramla alone, and caused damage throughout Greater Syria, including Palestine, where a tsunami devastated the Mediterranean coast, in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, and in areas to the east along the Euphrates such as al-Rahba and Kufa.^[1] Other strong earthquakes have occurred in the southern portion of the DST throughout history, impacting the wider region.