1902 Turkestan earthquake

The 1902 Turkestan earthquake (Uighur: 1902-يىلدىكى تۈركىستان يەر تەۋرەش, romanized: 1902-yildiki Türkistan Her Tewresh; Chinese: 土耳其斯坦地震; pinyin: Tǔ'ěrqí sītǎn dìzhèn; Kyrgyz: Түркстандагы жер титирөө, romanized: Türkstandagı jer titiröö), also known as the Kashgar earthquake (Uighur: قەشقەردىكى يەر تەۋرەش, romanized: Qeshqerdiki Her Tewresh; Chinese: 喀什地震; pinyin: Kāshén dìzhèn; Kyrgyz: Кашкардагы жер титирөө, romanized: Kaşkardagı jer titiröö), Atushi earthquake, and Artux earthquake, was a devastating seismic event that struck the western part of Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in China, near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It occurred on August 22, 1902, at about 8:00 or 9:00 am local time. An estimated 5,650–10,000 people were killed, with many more injured.[5] The earthquake measured Mw  7.7 on the moment magnitude scale.

1902 Kashgar earthquake
UTC time1902-08-22 03:00:00
ISC event16957769
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateAugust 22, 1902 (1902-08-22)
Magnitude7.7–7.9 Mw[1][2]
8.3 Ms
Depth18.0 km (11.2 mi)[1]
Epicenter39.87°N 76.42°E / 39.87; 76.42[1]
Areas affectedChina & Kyrgyzstan
Max. intensityX (Extreme)
MSK-64 X (Devastating)
AftershocksMs  6.8 [3]
Casualties5,650–10,000 dead[4]

Tectonic setting

The geological forces at play around Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang are directly related to the ongoing collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate. The topography of this region is influenced by broad crustal deformation as a result of convergence along the Main Himalayan Thrust. Before the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia, there were island arcs and microcontinents between the two landmasses that were also converging. These terranes were later accreted to Eurasia as northward-moving India closed collided with Eurasia, and are now in present-day Central Asia. Ancient suture zones mark the boundary between these accreted terranes. This deformation and accretion led to the formation of the Tien Shan mountains, which are moving 7±2 mm/yr towards the south along faults running along their base. The region is dominated by large, north and south-dipping thrust faults along the southern edge of the Tien Shan mountains, and the northern boundary of the Tarim basin, one of them being the Aheqi Fault Zone.[6]

Earthquake
Major fault structures in the vicinity of the Tien Shan range. The earthquake ruptured a thrust fault at the base of the range, or north of the Tarim Basin.

While scientific knowledge of the event is rather sparse due to the period in which it happened, research has given new insights into the earthquake of August 22, 1902. In a 2017 research, the earthquake was determined to have occurred at a depth of 18 km, while the epicenter coordinates at 39.87° N 76.42° E, a relocation from most global event catalogs that place the epicenter coordinates at 40.0° N 77.00° E. The earthquake magnitude was also recalculated to be 7.7, while older figures presented magnitude 8.25 or 8.6.[1][7] Past studies have suggested a focal depth of 40 km based on the large area felt with intensity X on the Rossi–Forel scale.[8]

It is the largest and earliest recorded earthquake in the Tien Shan region.[9] An aftershock of Ms  6.8 occurred eight days later.[3] A series of magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes follow in the years after the event.[8]

Characteristics

Thrust faulting was the cause of this event, involving a rupture on the Ttiotegongbaizi-Aerpaleike Fault located at the southern flanks of the Tien Shan range.[1][10] Analysis show that the quake was consistent with a rupture involving the Tuotegongbaizi-Aerpaleike Fault, near the western segment of the much larger Kalpin fold and thrust belt.[1][11] The fault is 200 km long, and has a surface fault trace like a gentle wave-shape. It dips to the north at varying angles of 25° to 60°. Field observations by researchers found no trace of surface ruptures indicating the event was a blind thrust earthquake.

The same fault system was responsible for the 1996 Artux earthquake, an Mwc  6.3 event that killed some 26 people in March 1996.[12][13]

Damage and casualties
Kashgar photographed in 1915.

The earthquake struck at 8:00 or 9:00 am on August 22, lasting for one and a half minutes, and reported to be extremely violent. Severe aftershocks were felt every day up till August 30. The mainshock was recorded on seismographs all over Europe.[14] It had a maximum intensity of X on the Modified Mercalli, Rossi–Forel, and Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scales.[1][15]

Around the meizoseismal area; an area that encompassed Kashgar and Artux, shaking was assigned X on the Rossi–Forel intensity scale for 150 km in the east–west direction in the southern base of the Tien Shan.[1] The ground motion was so forceful that the tip of trees touched the ground and some were even uprooted or snapped. All wood-constructed homes collapsed and many tents became deformed. Ground slumping near a riverbank blocked roads and dammed streams. Large ground fissures ejected water, transforming the ground into mud. The largest fissure measured one kilometer in length, several meters wide, and three meters deep. Five hundred (500) people died in the area. Many domesticated animals were also killed.[16]

In Kashgar, the mainshock collapsed sun-dried brick walls and collapsing homes. Masonry buildings however did not sustain serious damage.[14] Numerous fissures opened in the northern entrance of the city, where the city walls also toppled. Part of the Afaq Khoja Mausoleum, a tomb in the heart of Kashgar, collapsed and fractured. At least 50 inhabitants lost their lives or were injured.[16] The Artush district north of Kashgar suffered more devastating consequences. The earthquake collapsed almost every house in the area. Some 667 people were killed, and thousands more were injured in the city.[14][17]

The village of Astyn saw 400 fatalities, and in Jangi, 20 fatalities.[18]

In Yarkand, there was less serious damage to the city, but two children lost their lives due to collapsing walls. There was also damage reported in Narin and Atbashi although no residents were killed.[14]

See also

References
  1. Kulikova, G., Krüger, F. (2017). "Historical seismogram reproductions for the source parameters determination of the 1902, Atushi (Kashgar) earthquake". Journal of Seismology. 21 (6): 1577–1597. Bibcode:2017JSeis..21.1577K. doi:10.1007/s10950-017-9683-z. S2CID 135031442.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "22 August 1902 11h N of Artux (Xinjiang)". emidius.eu. Global Historical Earthquake Archive. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  3. "Centennial Earthquake Catalog". earthquake.usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. Utsu, T. "Search Page". Catalog of Damaging Earthquakes in the World (Through 2008). Archived from the original on 2007-08-19. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  5. "Earthquake Ruins in Atushi (1902)". Chinese Academy of Sciences. kepu.net.cn. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. Bihong Fu, Yoshiki Ninomiya, Jianming Guo (2010). "Slip partitioning in the northeast Pamir–Tian Shan convergence zone" (PDF). Tectonophysics. 483 (3–4): 344–364. Bibcode:2010Tectp.483..344F. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2009.11.003.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. J. P. Avouac P. Tapponnier M. Bai H. You G. Wang (1993). "Active Thrusting and Folding Along the Northern Tien Shan and Late Cenozoic Rotation of the Tarim relative to Dzungaria and Kazakhstan" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 98 (B4): 6755–6804. Bibcode:1993JGR....98.6755A. doi:10.1029/92JB01963.
  8. Kulikova, Galina. Source parameters of the major historical earthquakes in the Tien-Shan region from the late 19th to the early 20th century (PDF) (Dr. rer. nat. thesis). University of Potsdam.
  9. B. Gutenberg (1956). "Great earthquakes 1896–1903". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 37 (5): 608. Bibcode:1956TrAGU..37..608G. doi:10.1029/TR037i005p00608.
  10. Rui-bin Zhao, Jun Li & Jun Shen (2000). "The preliminary study on active faults and paleoearthquakes in the north fringe of Kashi depression". Acta Seismologica Sinica. 13 (3): 351–355. Bibcode:2000AcSSn..13..351Z. doi:10.1007/s11589-000-0045-4. S2CID 129084815.
  11. Li, A., Ran, Y., Gomez, F. (2020). "Segmentation of the Kepingtage thrust fault based on paleoearthquake ruptures, southwestern Tianshan, China". Natural Hazards. 103: 1385–1406. doi:10.1007/s11069-020-04040-6. S2CID 218573164.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. Reuters Staff (12 May 2008). "TIMELINE: China's major earthquakes". Reuters. Retrieved 4 Feb 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "M 6.3 - southern Xinjiang, China". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "The Turkestan Earthquake of August 22". Scottish Geographical Notes. 19 (1). 1902. doi:10.1080/00369220308733425.
  15. Lauterbach, S., Mingram, J., Schettler, G., & Orunbaev, S. (2019). "Two twentieth-century MLH = 7.5 earthquakes recorded in annually laminated lake sediments from Sary Chelek, western Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan". Quaternary Research. 92 (2): 288–303. doi:10.1017/qua.2019.21. S2CID 181463148. Retrieved 8 May 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. "Significant Earthquake Information". NGDC. Archived from the original on 2021-07-17. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  17. Wines, Michael (May 27, 2009). "To Protect an Ancient City, China Moves to Raze It". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  18. "Terrible earthquake in Turkestan". MANAWATU STANDARD. Vol. XL, no. 7454. 20 Nov 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 4 Feb 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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