Earthquakes in Crimea: history and seismic activity at present

Crimea belongs to the earthquake zone located on the territory of the Russian Federation. Seismic activity has been repeatedly observed here, accompanied by loss of life, the disappearance of cities, and a change in the terrain. What is the reason for the ongoing fluctuations of the underground bowels, and what is the probability of future earthquakes, we will consider in this article.

The first references to earthquakes in Crimea that have survived to this day date back to prehistoric times. Since the V century BC. e., in descriptions of people's lives, as well as in inscriptions found on the ruins of cities, catastrophes, natural disasters, and flooding of the peninsula periodically caused by severe fluctuations of the earth's surface are periodically mentioned.

Russian scientists P. Pallas and P. Sumarokov left behind personal observations of earthquakes in 1780 in Sevastopol, where seismicity was 6 points. Each earthquake is a devastation, loss of life, anxiety, fear of an inexplicable phenomenon. Even the 20th century did not bring peace and quiet to the described peninsula. Up to calendar months, you can list all the disasters that happened in this place at the beginning of the century. The statistics of earthquakes are as follows: January 1902, May 1908, October of the same year, December 1919.

The earthquakes of 1927 were the largest in the territory caused by material damage and human losses. There were 2 of them: the first - June 26, the second - on the night of September 11 to 12. In June, as a result of earthquakes, mountain landslides near Sevastopol were noticed, cracks formed on the walls of residential buildings. The post office, the temple collapsed, panic began, vacationers urgently left the peninsula resorts. The amount of damage amounted to 1 million rubles.

The September 1927 earthquake is considered the strongest, seismicity in points was 9 units. Pets began to show the first state of alarm: horses and cows tried to run somewhere, dogs and cats instinctively tried to be closer to the owners, waiting for help from them. At sea for several hours there was an unceasing rumble, waves began to boil.

Exactly at midnight, a dog howl rose in the entire private sector, the earth shook 15 minutes after midnight, there was a roar, a crack, a crack of broken glass, a second underground shock occurred a few seconds later: half-naked people ran out of the collapsing housing, cried, cried out for help. Experts say that in the first 11 hours there were 27 tremors of the earth’s firmament. Collapses occurred in the mountains, the sea crashed ashore in a huge wave, sweeping away everything in its path. Great damage occurred in Yalta: residential buildings went out of order, the hotels Yalta and Russia suffered.

Simferopol was badly destroyed. The total damage was estimated at 50 million rubles. The casualties amounted to 800 wounded, 16 dead. The cause of death of people was not only an earthquake, but also a panic. Before the elements, people, fleeing, jumped out of the windows, fear drove them to a broken heart.

On the sheer forty-meter-high Aurora rock in the former castle in 1927, the Swallow's Nest restaurant was located. History brought to contemporaries information about the evening on the eve of the tragic events. The last visitors only managed to leave the cozy hall when a powerful blow rang out.

As a result of a strong push, a wide crack was formed under the castle, part of the rock collapsed into the sea with the garden, the rest hung over the abyss, and the castle itself collapsed. The building received minor damage, but still closed to visitors.

Experts put forward several causes of Crimean earthquakes.

• In the Black Sea near Crimea the epicenter of earth quakes is located at a depth of 200-2000 meters, on the slope of the Black Sea basin. There are touching sections of the earth's crust that make uneven, opposite movements, which causes earthquakes.
• On the line "Simferopol-Bakhchisaray" strong latitudinal faults occur. This leads to the advance under the mountains of the seabed, which is another reason for the fluctuations of the earth's surface.
• Earthquakes accompanied by tsunamisthat may be caused by active navigation off the coast of Crimea.

Witnesses to the terrible tragedy of 1927 were not left alive, more than 90 years have passed since that terrible night, but the Crimean peninsula continues to remain an unsafe zone today. All subsequent tremors were insignificant, did not constitute any seismic hazard. The last underground disturbance in Crimea was recorded on May 13, 2016, tremors were weak, Crimeans escaped with only a slight startle. But you shouldn’t relax According to experts, there is a possibility that an earthquake can occur at any time. Quite a lot of time has passed since the destructive elements, and earthquakes are unpredictable, and they happen with less frequency.

Modern technologies allow scientists to observe the chemical and physical processes that took place in the earth's crust under the peninsula itself and in the Black Sea depths.They claim that tectonic movements occur, peat, silt, trees fall into the faults of the earth's crust, they ferment at the depth of the sea, which activates mud volcanoes.

Today, earthquakes occur on the peninsula, but their foci are many thousands of kilometers away from the Crimea.

As in any controversial issue, opinions about future earthquakes are divided: some claim that it is inevitable, others do not doubt its absence.

Now, in the age of high technology, the Laboratory of Continental Seismicity, which predicts seismic hazard, operates at the Institute of Earth Physics (IPP). It is the specialists from this laboratory that give out information about a possible new earthquake.

Assume various options:

• houses will be destroyed;
• a tsunami will occur;

Rumors of a "coming cataclysm" appear against the backdrop of the popularity of the Crimean holiday season.

The famous artist K. Petrov-Vodkin during the earthquake in September 1927 rested in the Crimea, he stayed with his family in the midst of destruction, sought to capture the element of nature on the canvas. As a result of hard work, the creator presented the world with a masterpiece - the famous painting “Earthquake in the Crimea”. Natural disaster and writers did not leave indifferent. The tremors of the earthquake were displayed in their novel “12 Chairs” by I. Ilf and E. Petrov.

The results of earthquake research in Crimea are shown in the next video.