1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake
| UTC time | 1995-11-22 04:15:11 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 70282 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | November 22, 1995 |
| Local time | 06:15 |
| Magnitude | 7.3 Mw |
| Depth | 18 km (11 mi) |
| Epicenter | 28°49′34″N 34°47′56″E / 28.826°N 34.799°E |
| Type | Strike-slip |
| Areas affected | Egypt, Israel, Jordan Saudi Arabia |
| Max. intensity | MMI VIII (Severe) |
| Tsunami | Yes |
| Casualties | 9–12 dead 30–69 injured |
The 1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake (also known as Nuweiba earthquake) occurred on November 22 at 06:15 local time (04:15 UTC) and registered 7.3 on the Mw scale. The epicenter was located in the central segment of the Gulf of Aqaba, the narrow body of water that separates Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from the western border of Saudi Arabia. At least 8 people were killed and 30 were injured in the meizoseismal area.
The earthquake occurred along the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system, an active tectonic plate boundary with seismicity that is characterized by long-running quiescent periods with occasional large and damaging earthquakes, along with intermittent earthquake swarms. It was the strongest tectonic event in the area for many decades and caused injuries, damage, and deaths throughout the Levant and is also thought to have remotely triggered a series of small to moderate earthquakes 500 kilometers (310 mi) to the north of the epicenter. In the aftermath of the quake, several field investigations set out to determine the extent of any surface faulting, and the distribution of aftershocks was analyzed.