The 1927 Jericho earthquake was a devastating event that shook Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan on July 11 at 15:04 local time. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the northern area of the Dead Sea. The cities of Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramla, Tiberias, and Nablus were heavily damaged, and between 287 and 400[7] people were estimated to have been killed.
Earthquake
Vered and Striem (1977) located the earthquake epicenter to be near the Damya Bridge in the Jordan Valley, and close to the city of Jericho.[8] Later research by Avni (1999), located the epicenter to be around 50 km south of this location near the Dead Sea.[9]
Effects
Mandatory Palestine
Jerusalem
The death toll in Jerusalem included more than 130 people and around 450 were injured. About 300 houses collapsed or were severely damaged to the point of not being usable. The earthquake also caused heavy damage to the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The rest of the country
The earthquake was especially severe in Nablus where it destroyed around 300 buildings, including the Mosque of Victory and the historic parts of the Great Mosque of Nablus.[8] The death toll in Nablus included more than 150 people and around 250 were injured.
In Jericho, a number of houses collapsed, including several relatively new hotels. In one of the hotels, three female tourists from India were killed.[10]Ramla and Tiberias were also heavily damaged.
Emirate of Transjordan
The most affected city in Transjordan was Salt in which 80 people were killed. In the rest of Transjordan another 20 people were killed.
This is the Russian Monastery of Ascension on the Mount of Olives in which three people were killed. On the iron gate on the left, we can read Русская Духовная Миссия ('Russian Ecclesiastical Mission')
![The destroyed Winter Palace Hotel[11] in Jericho](File:1927_Earthquake_Jericho.jpg)
