1929 Grand Banks earthquake

**1929 Grand Banks earthquake**
Date	November 18, 1929
Magnitude	7.2 Mw
Depth:	20 km (12 mi)
Epicenter location:	44°41′N 56°00′W / 44.69, -56
Countries/; regions affected	Canada
Casualties:	28 killed

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The 1929 Grand Banks earthquake, also called the Laurentian Slope earthquake and the South Shore Disaster, was a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that occurred on November 18, 1929 in the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Newfoundland.

The earthquake was centered on the edge of the Grand Banks, about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of the island. It was felt as far away as New York and Montreal. The quake, along two faults 250 kilometres (160 mi) south of the Burin Peninsula, triggered a large submarine landslide (200 km³/48 cu mi). It snapped 12 submarine transatlantic telegraph cables and led to a tsunami that arrived in three waves, each up to fifteen metres high, that struck the coast at 105 km/h (65 mph) about three hours after the earthquake occurred. The waves travelled at speeds up to 129 km/h (80 mph) at the epicentre; they were recorded as far away as Portugal.

The tsunami destroyed many south coastal communities on the Burin Peninsula, killing 28 people and leaving 10,000 more homeless. All means of communication were cut off by the destruction, and relief efforts were further hampered by a blizzard that struck the day after. It took more than three days before the SS Meigle responded to an SOS signal with doctors, nurses, blankets, and food. Donations from across Newfoundland, Canada, the United States and United Kingdom totalled $250,000.

As of 2008, it is the only recorded tsunami to have struck Canada's east coast.