1755 Lisbon earthquake

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, hit the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami, the earthquake almost completely destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Seismologists estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7 or greater on the moment magnitude scale, with its epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km (110 nmi; 120 mi) west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent, a cape in the Algarve region, and about 290 km (160 nmi; 180 mi) southwest of Lisbon. Chronologically, it was the third known large-scale earthquake to hit the city (following those of 1356 and 1531). Estimates place the death toll in Lisbon around 30,000–40,000. A further 10,000 may have died in Morocco. The earthquake accentuated political tensions in Portugal and profoundly disrupted the Portuguese Empire. The event was widely discussed and… Read by Willmcw. Recorded April 30, 2005; the article may have changed since. The article as it stood when recorded: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=13057362 Article today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake Original recording: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:En-1755_Lisbon_earthquake-article.oga License: CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). This episode is a format-shifted (MP3) copy redistributed under the same license. Chapter images come from the recorded article via Wikimedia Commons; each chapter links its file page for credits. This show is an independent community project, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation.