January 11, 1941 Earthquake: Razih, Yemen

January 11, 1941. Following several slight foreshocks on 9 January, reported from al-Hudaida, a destructive earthquake,

occurring around noon local time, affected a large area

of the Yemen. The main shock was felt from al-Darb

in Saudi Arabia to al-Mukalla in Hadramaut, and it was

reported from Assab in Ethiopia, but not from Aden. The region worst affected lies west of Sa'da, in the area round Razih, where a number of villages were destroyed, with small loss of life. Landslides blocked the road at the head of the Razih Valley. To the north, between Jizan and Razih, al Arida near Abu 'Arish in Saudi Arabia, the shock caused rockfalls and the drying up ofspringwater. In Sa'da and Rahban, and especially Wadi 'Azar, many houses were destroyed: old and new houses cracked in Sa'da, but there was no loss of life. The inhabitants abandoned their homes and camped in tents. In the district of Majz, many Jews were

killed by the collapse of the roof of their synagogue.

Damage also extended south to Kuhlan and Hajja, where a few houses were demolished.

Aftershocks continued daily up to the second week of March, and added to the damage, though it is not easy to distinguish the effects of individual events. Two strong aftershocks occurred at 09h 18m on 4 February and at 19h 03m on 23 February, of which the former had a magnitude of 5.2, and was reported from Haidan, Khaulan, al-Zahir and Wadi al-'Abidin near Sa'da, where landslides occurred, Damage was also reported from Abu 'Arish and Sabiya to the northwest and Harad to the southwest. The aftershock of 23 February was reported from al-Hudaida, Bait al-Faqih, al-Sa'id and Bura', and is said to have been damaging. It is reported that altogether 1200 people were killed and 200 injured in these earthquakes, which totally destroyed 300 houses, ruined 400 beyond repair and slightly damaged about 1000.

The relocation of the main shock and of the aftershock

of 4 February gives 16.75 N, 43.33 E and 16'90 N, 43.90 E respectively. For neither solution are there any observations from stations between azimuth 90 and 270 degrees, which probably has the effect of dragging the epicentres northwards by possibly as much as half a

degree, although these positions are quite consistent with

the rather patchy macroseismic data available.

(above from reference #3845)