Earthquakes and Tsunami’s from New England’s Past
By Capt. Jeff Simpson
Posted Dec 9, 2015 at 7:12 PM
By now, most of us have read about Massachusetts and its vulnerability to earthquakes.
There are a number of ancient faults in the region, but none of them are considered active. While there have been hundreds of earthquakes recorded in the Commonwealth since the 1600’s, most of them have been relatively weak.
The first known record of a significant earthquake actually took place in 1638, near the Plymouth Colony. According to “Bradford’s History,” the longtime Gov. William Bradford described a violent shaking that made it difficult for people to stand. Bradford went on to say that some ships along the coast also felt the quake, believing that they had run aground.
A little over one hundred years later, in November of 1755; the state’s most violent earthquake occurred. The Cape Ann Earthquake rattled the region with formidable fury. Contemporary reports stated that over 1,000 chimneys in the Boston area were either destroyed or heavily damaged. Witnesses also reported that stone walls were toppled, buildings partially collapsed and steeples separated from churches. If the estimated 6.2 magnitude quake occurred today, the potential exists for billions of dollars in damages and scores of casualties.
If all of this isn’t alarming enough, would you believe that our region is susceptible to tsunami’s?
We’ve seen the Discovery Channel specials on the East Coast tsunami threat. They provide us with a great deal of information and entertainment in regards to potentially catastrophic tsunamis, that one day could affect parts of the East Coast. Records maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provide some little-known information regarding East Coast tsunami occurrences.
Several validated as well as possible historical tsunami events have impacted parts of the United States East Coast. Sparse population and inaccurate accounts lend to the difficulty in judging the actual significance of these events. The information contained in this list was provided by the National Geophysical Data Center.
Tsunamis and Tsunami Type Events of the Eastern U.S.:
1668: An earthquake occurred in Massachusetts, Native Americans reported that a river was swallowed up and its course altered.
1755: A massive earthquake struck Lisbon, Portugal. A series of tsunamis struck the city, killing an estimated 60,000 or more of its inhabitants. Computer models suggest that a series of 10 foot waves struck parts of the East Coast.
1755: The Cape Ann Earthquake produced a noticeable sea wave. United States Earthquake History noted that a sea quake was experienced by a ship of the Massachusetts coast.
1871: An earthquake-induced tsunami affected parts of Long Island, New York.
1872: Fluctuation was reported on tidal gauges in Penobscot Bay, Maine. It is believed that these variations were created by a moderate earthquake that occurred in the region.
1879: Sailors reported being swamped by a vast, huge wave in the area of Nantucket.
1895: Witnesses reported a monstrous wave with swept ocean ward in the area of Long Island, New York.
1912: An immense tidal wave was reported by several ports on Lake Erie.
1923: A huge wave reportedly drowned two children playing on the beach in Queens, New York.
1924: An estimated 15-foot wave emerged from reportedly calm sea conditions, knocking over hundreds of bathers on Coney Island, New York.
1929: The magnitude 7.2 Grand Banks Earthquake produced a killer tsunami that severed trans-Atlantic cables and caused a significant loss of life and property destruction on Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland. Twenty-nine people were killed and the effects of the tsunami were felt as far south as Bermuda. Accurate data was complicated due to a severe storm that was affecting parts of New England.
1938: Some experts believe that tsunami waves impacted parts of the Northeast Coast during the Long Island Express, New England’s deadliest hurricane. It is unknown if in fact seismic activity prior to the hurricane, created weaknesses in the ocean floor causing potential underwater landslides, which can create tsunamis. Fifty foot waves, on top of already record high storm surge was reported in some coastal areas, leading some experts to believe that these huge waves were caused by a coincidental, concurrent, seismic event.
There are many more accounts of tsunami activity along the East Coast, unfortunately this newspaper doesn’t have enough pages for me to list them all. Although the likelihood of a significant tsunami impacting our coastline is extremely small, it serves as a reminder that tsunami’s and earthquakes have their place in our region’s past, present and future. With this knowledge, we have been given an opportunity to educate and prepare the public in regards to seismological events.
“Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government,” Thomas Jefferson once said.
