1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake
| Date | 7 May 1842 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 8.1Ms |
| Epicenter | 19°45′N 72°12′W / 19.75°N 72.20°WCoordinates: 19°45′N 72°12′W / 19.75°N 72.20°W |
| Areas affected | Haiti |
| Tsunami | Yes |
| Casualties | 5,300 |
The 1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake occurred at 17:00 local time (21:00 UTC) on 7 May. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.1 on the surface wave magnitude scale and triggered a destructive tsunami. It badly affected the northern coast of Haiti and part of what is now the Dominican Republic. Port-de-Paix suffered the greatest damage from both earthquake and tsunami. Approximately 5,000 people were killed by the effects of the earthquake shaking and another 300 by the tsunami.
The island of Hispaniola lies across the complex transform plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. The overall four cm per year displacement along this boundary is split nearly equally between two major dextral (right lateral) strike-slip zones either side of the Gonâve Microplate. To the south is the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault zone, which extends from Jamaica in the west to the south-east of Hispaniola to the east. In the north the fault zone is the Septentrional-Oriente fault zone passing along the southern margin of Cuba and along the northern part of Hispaniola. Both of these fault zones have been associated with several major historical earthquakes.
The earthquake was felt over a wide area, including southern Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and across the Antilles. The estimated intensity reached IX (violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale along the northern coast from Cap-Haïtien to Santiago de los Caballeros.
The earthquake appears to have been caused by movement on the Septentrional Fault, with the rupture extending from the Cibao valley in the present day Dominican Republic, along the whole of the northern coast of Haiti.
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