1647 Santiago earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1647 Santiago earthquake struck Santiago, Chile
on the night of May 13th (22:30 local time, 02:30 UTC
on 14 May) and is said to have brought virtually every building in the city to the ground. The earthquake
was felt throughout the so-called Captaincy General of Chile, an administrative territory of the Spanish Empire. The maximum felt intensity was XI on the Mercalli intensity scale
and there were about a thousand casualties.
between the Nazca Plate
and the South American Plate
.
Damaged buildings included the Iglesia San Agustín
(Saint Augustine Church). Inside the church, the Cristo de Mayo crucifix was undamaged except for its crown of thorns
which had fallen to Christ's neck, despite the diameter of the crown being smaller than that of the head. The Bishop of Santiago
, friar
Gaspar de Villaroel, salvaged the image from the debris and dragged it from the church to the Plaza de Armas to display to the gathering survivors.
. It may have been either an extensional event within the Benioff zone
, or a shallow focus intraplate event
, possibly along the San Ramón Fault.
, until her death in 1667. Each year since 1647 on May 13, many townspeople gather to commemorate the earthquake.
Some days after the earthquakes the city was affected by heavy rains which made the problems of sanitation worse. Over the next few weeks an estimated 2,000 people died of "chabalongo", the name then used for typhus
.
Due to the high level of damage caused by the earthquake the government considered moving the capital a few kilometers farther north (in the area that is currently known as Quillota
). The decision was made, however, to reconstruct Santiago on the same site.
Gaspar de Villarroel, Bishop of Santiago, said that the earthquake should not be considered as divine punishment for the sins of the inhabitants, adding that "it will be a mortal sin to judge that their (the citizens') sins destroyed this city".
, The Earthquake in Chile
by the German author Heinrich von Kleist
, published in 1807.
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
on the night of May 13th (22:30 local time, 02:30 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
on 14 May) and is said to have brought virtually every building in the city to the ground. The earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
was felt throughout the so-called Captaincy General of Chile, an administrative territory of the Spanish Empire. The maximum felt intensity was XI on the Mercalli intensity scale
Mercalli intensity scale
The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake, and is distinct from the moment magnitude M_w usually reported for an earthquake , which is a measure of the energy released...
and there were about a thousand casualties.
Tectonic setting
Chile lies along the destructive plate boundaryConvergent boundary
In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary, also known as a destructive plate boundary , is an actively deforming region where two tectonic plates or fragments of lithosphere move toward one another and collide...
between the Nazca Plate
Nazca Plate
]The Nazca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction along the Peru-Chile Trench of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate is largely responsible for the...
and the South American Plate
South American Plate
The South American Plate is a continental tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America and also a sizeable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge....
.
Damage
The earthquake was the most damaging in the history of Santiago.Damaged buildings included the Iglesia San Agustín
Iglesia San Agustin, Chile
Our Lady of Grace, commonly known as Iglesia de San Agustín , is a Catholic church in downtown Santiago, Chile owned by the Order of Saint Augustine. Built in 1625, it is the second oldest church in Chile after Saint Francis of Assisi's church...
(Saint Augustine Church). Inside the church, the Cristo de Mayo crucifix was undamaged except for its crown of thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
which had fallen to Christ's neck, despite the diameter of the crown being smaller than that of the head. The Bishop of Santiago
Archbishop of Santiago (Chile)
The Archbishop of Santiago de Chile is a Roman Catholic title given to the archbishop of the church in the Diocese of Santiago de Chile. From 1561 to 1840 the title was a bishop but since 1840 with Manuel Vicuña Larraín it was elevated to archbishop status....
, friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
Gaspar de Villaroel, salvaged the image from the debris and dragged it from the church to the Plaza de Armas to display to the gathering survivors.
Characteristics
The cause of the earthquake is not known with certainty, although from contemporary reports, it appears unlikely to have been a megathrust eventMegathrust earthquake
Megathrust earthquakes occur at subduction zones at destructive plate boundaries , where one tectonic plate is forced under another. Due to the shallow dip of the plate boundary, which causes large sections to get stuck, these earthquakes are among the world's largest, with moment magnitudes ...
. It may have been either an extensional event within the Benioff zone
Benioff zone
A Wadati–Benioff zone is a deep active seismic area in a subduction zone. Differential motion along the zone produces deep-seated earthquakes, the foci of which may be as deep as about . They develop beneath volcanic island arcs and continental margins above active subduction zones...
, or a shallow focus intraplate event
Intraplate earthquake
An intraplate earthquake is an earthquake that occurs in the interior of a tectonic plate, whereas an interplate earthquake is one that occurs at a plate boundary....
, possibly along the San Ramón Fault.
Aftermath
After the earthquake the Cristo de Mayo crucifix was kept in the home of murderess Doña Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, better known locally as La QuintralaLa Quintrala
Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer was an aristocratic 17th century Chilean landowner, nicknamed La Quintrala because of her flaming red hair. During Chile's colonial period, she was noted for her extreme cruelty to her inquils , accused and tried for over 40 murders, becoming an icon of colonial...
, until her death in 1667. Each year since 1647 on May 13, many townspeople gather to commemorate the earthquake.
Some days after the earthquakes the city was affected by heavy rains which made the problems of sanitation worse. Over the next few weeks an estimated 2,000 people died of "chabalongo", the name then used for typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
.
Due to the high level of damage caused by the earthquake the government considered moving the capital a few kilometers farther north (in the area that is currently known as Quillota
Quillota
Quillota is a city and commune located in the Aconcagua River valley of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of the Quillota Province where many inhabitants live in the surrounding farm areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay, and San Pedro...
). The decision was made, however, to reconstruct Santiago on the same site.
Gaspar de Villarroel, Bishop of Santiago, said that the earthquake should not be considered as divine punishment for the sins of the inhabitants, adding that "it will be a mortal sin to judge that their (the citizens') sins destroyed this city".
In literature
The earthquake was the subject of a novellaNovella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, The Earthquake in Chile
The Earthquake in Chile
The Earthquake in Chile , is a novella written by Heinrich von Kleist . The novella's central characters are two lovers, caught up in the chaos of the 1647 Santiago earthquake in Chile.-Synopsis:...
by the German author Heinrich von Kleist
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
, published in 1807.