1911 Guerrero earthquake

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1911 Guerrero earthquake
Mexico topographic map-blank 2.svg
Bullseye1.png
UTC  time1911-12-16 19:14:32
ISC  event 16958175
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateDecember 16, 1911
Local time12:14
Duration~ 2 minutes [1]
Magnitude7.6 Mw [2]
7.8 Ms [3]
Depth50 km
Epicenter 17°00′N100°30′W / 17.0°N 100.5°W / 17.0; -100.5
Areas affectedMexico
Max. intensity MMI VII (Very strong)
Casualties28 dead [1]

The 1911 Guerrero earthquake occurred on December 16 at 12:14 local time near the coast of Guerrero, Mexico along the Mexican subduction zone. The earthquake's energy was calculated using several different magnitude scales with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.6 and a surface-wave magnitude of 7.8. Following the event, telegraphy reports came in from a broad area of Mexico. Cities from Guadalajara, Mérida (on the Yucatán Peninsula), and Tapachula (near Guatemala) all reported the tremors. The earthquake lasted over two minutes and resulted in the deaths of 28 people.

Contents

Tectonic setting

In the region, the Cocos, North American, and Caribbean plates converge and create a tectonic zone of consistent and long term seismicity. Guerrero is located where the Cocos plate is being subducted under the North American plate, and the rupture area of the earthquake may have occurred in the Guerrero seismic gap, [4] which is a 200 kilometers (120 mi) stretch along the Middle America Trench that had not experienced movement nearly as often as nearby segments of the subduction zone. [5]

The convergence rate of the Cocos and North American plates in the Guerrero seismic gap varies between 53–58 millimeters (2.1–2.3 in) annually. This level of precision was made possible after the installation of permanent GPS monitoring stations, the first of which was installed in 1997 at Cayaco, Guerrero. The gap was defined as having a northwest section and a southeast section. The most recent significant events in the southeast sector were the 1907 and 1957 Guerrero earthquakes with respective magnitudes of 7.9 and 7.8. The 2007 report stated that the northwestern zone has not experienced a significant release of energy since the December 1911 event. [3]

Damage

There were reports of walls and fences being damaged and part of a market's roofing frame falling and causing injury. [6] The electricity had been cut for a time in Mexico City. The greatest damage may have occurred in Chilpancingo, the capital city of Guerrero. [1]

According to the El Paso Herald issued on December 18, people in Mexico City rushed to the Zócalo running aimlessly or praying during the earthquake. Then Mexican president Francisco I. Madero, conferring with some of his cabinet members at the moment, was standing in front of a window in the National Palace, watching the scene, laughing without fear, and remained there until the earthquake stopped. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle America Trench</span> Subduction zone in the eastern Pacific off the southwestern coast of Middle America

The Middle America Trench is a major subduction zone, an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America, stretching from central Mexico to Costa Rica. The trench is 1,700 miles (2,750 km) long and is 21,880 feet at its deepest point. The trench is the boundary between the Rivera, Cocos, and Nazca plates on one side and the North American and Caribbean plates on the other. It is the 18th-deepest trench in the world. Many large earthquakes have occurred in the area of the Middle America Trench.

A slow earthquake is a discontinuous, earthquake-like event that releases energy over a period of hours to months, rather than the seconds to minutes characteristic of a typical earthquake. First detected using long term strain measurements, most slow earthquakes now appear to be accompanied by fluid flow and related tremor, which can be detected and approximately located using seismometer data filtered appropriately. That is, they are quiet compared to a regular earthquake, but not "silent" as described in the past.

The 2003 Colima earthquake occurred on 21 January with a moment magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The epicenter was located on the Pacific coast in the Mexican state of Colima. The earthquake was felt as far away as Mexico City and in southern parts of the United States.

Episodic tremor and slip (ETS) is a seismological phenomenon observed in some subduction zones that is characterized by non-earthquake seismic rumbling, or tremor, and slow slip along the plate interface. Slow slip events are distinguished from earthquakes by their propagation speed and focus. In slow slip events, there is an apparent reversal of crustal motion, although the fault motion remains consistent with the direction of subduction. ETS events themselves are imperceptible to human beings and do not cause damage.

The 1965 Oaxaca earthquake occurred in Mexico on August 23 at 13:46 with a moment magnitude of 7.5. Five people were reported dead in Mexico City and one in Oaxaca. There was an anomalous change in seismic activities before the earthquake. There was a quiescent stage from late 1963 to mid-1964, and it was followed by a renewal of seismic activities before the main shock. This earthquake was a shallow thrust earthquake in the interplate subduction zone, in which the Cocos plate is subducting beneath the North American plate.

The 2011 Guerrero earthquake struck with a moment magnitude of 5.7 in southern Mexico at 08:24 local time on 5 May. It was positioned west of Ometepec, Guerrero, with a focal depth of 24 km (14.9 mi), and was lightly felt in many adjacent areas.

The 1941 Colima earthquake occurred on April 15 at 19:09 UTC. The epicenter was located in the State of Michoacán, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1911 Michoacán earthquake</span>

The 1911 Michoacán earthquake occurred on June 7 at 04:26 local time. The epicenter was located near the coast of Michoacán, Mexico. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale. 45 people were reported dead. In Mexico City, 119 houses were destroyed. Cracks were reported in Palacio Nacional, Escuela Normal para Maestros, Escuela Preparatoria, Inspección de Policía, and Instituto Geológico. Ciudad Guzmán, the seat of Zapotlán el Grande, Jalisco, suffered great damage.

The 1932 Jalisco earthquakes began on June 3 at 10:36 UTC with a megathrust event that registered 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale. With a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale, at least 400 deaths were caused in Mexico and neighboring Guatemala. It was the first of a series of seismic events that affected parts of western Mexico during the month of June 1932, all reaching magnitude 7 or greater.

The 1964 Guerrero earthquake occurred on July 6 at 01:22 local time in Guerrero, Mexico. The magnitude of this earthquake was given as Ms 7.4, or ML 7.2.

The 1981 Playa Azul earthquake occurred on October 24, 1981, at 21:22 local time. It was located near Playa Azul, Michoacán, Mexico. The magnitude of the earthquake was Mw 7.2, or Ms 7.3. Three deaths were reported, two from Michoacán and one from Mexico City. Some buildings were damaged in both Michoacán and Mexico City. A small tsunami was registered in Acapulco with a maximum height of 9 cm.

The 1980 Honduras earthquake struck just offshore Honduras on August 9 at 05:45 UTC. Two people were killed and many injured.

The 1787 New Spain earthquake, also known as the San Sixto earthquake, occurred on 28 March at 11:30 local time. It caused a large tsunami that affected the coast of the Puebla Intendancy and the Oaxaca Intendancy in Southwestern New Spain. With an estimated magnitude of 8.6 on the moment magnitude scale, it was more powerful than any instrumentally recorded Mexican earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1957 Guerrero earthquake</span>

The 1957 Guerrero earthquake occurred on 28 July at 08:40 UTC. It had a magnitude of 7.6 Mw and a maximum perceived intensity of VII on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Mexico City and Chilpancingo were particularly badly affected. It caused the deaths of between 54 and 160 people. A small tsunami was triggered but caused little damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Oaxaca earthquake</span> Earthquake in Mexico

On November 29, 1978 a moment magnitude 7.7–7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Mexican state Oaxaca. The thrust-faulting event caused severe damage in Oaxaca and Mexico City.

On January 30, 1973, at 15:01 (UTC–6), a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck 35.3 km (21.9 mi) beneath the Sierra Madre del Sur range in the Mexican states of Colima, Jalisco and Michoacán. On the Mercalli intensity scale, the earthquake reached a maximum intensity of X (Extreme), causing serious damage in the region. At least 56 people were killed and about 390 were injured. The event is commonly referred to as the Colima earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 Xalapa earthquake</span> Earthquake in Mexico

The 1920 Xalapa earthquake affected the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the states of Puebla and Veracruz, Mexico on 3 January at 22:25 CST. It was the second deadliest to affect Mexico, behind the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The earthquake measured 6.3–6.4 on the moment magnitude scale. An area around the epicenter, located between Chilchotla and Patlanalán, was assigned the maximum intensity of XI–XII (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Aftershocks following the earthquake were studied to determine that it originated at a depth of 15 km (9.3 mi) of less. The focal mechanism indicated that the shock was the result of faulting along an east–west striking normal fault beneath the volcanic belt.

The 1979 Petatlán earthquake, also known as the IBERO earthquake occurred on March 14 at 05:07 local time in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The earthquake had a surface wave magnitude of Ms  7.6 or moment magnitude of Mw  7.4 and maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The epicenter, onshore, was located 12 km south southeast of Vallecitos de Zaragoza.

The 1959 Coatzacoalcos earthquake occurred at 02:25 local time on August 26 near the Mexican state of Veracruz. The earthquake measured 6.4 Mw  at a depth of 21 km (13 mi), and had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). It had an epicenter immediately off the coast of Coatzacoalcos. The shallow back-arc thrust faulting earthquake damaged the cities of Acayucan, Coatzacoalcos, Jáltipan and Minatitlán. A total of 25 people died, including 10 from Jáltipan while a further 200 were injured. The Middle America Trench, a subduction zone that borders the southwestern coast of Mexico and Central America, accounts for much of the seismicity in Mexico. The eastern side of the country near the Gulf of Mexico rarely experiences large earthquakes although they have been recorded around the Veracruz area, where seismicity is higher compared to other parts of the gulf. Seismicity in the gulf is attributed to back-arc compression due to subduction.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 El Paso Herald (December 18, 2011). "Mexican Tremors Kill 28 people; Volcano of Orizaba Belches Smoke, and Cloudburst at Taxco Kills Five". El Paso Herald. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ Engdahl, E. R.; Vallaseñor, A. (2002). "Global seismicity: 1900-1999" (PDF). International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology. Part A, Volume 81A (First ed.). Academic Press. p. 672. ISBN   978-0124406520.
  3. 1 2 Liu, Yajing; Rice, James R.; Larson, Kristine M. (October 2007), "Seismicity variations associated with aseismic transients in Guerrero, Mexico, 1995–2006" (PDF), Earth and Planetary Science Letters , 262 (3–4), Elsevier: 494, Bibcode:2007E&PSL.262..493L, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.08.018, S2CID   18865548, archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-17, retrieved 2012-03-18
  4. ↑ A R Lowry; K M Larson; Vladimir Kostoglodov; O Sanchez (2005). "The fault slip budget in Guerrero, southern Mexico" (PDF). Geophysical Journal International. 200 (1): 1–15.
  5. ↑ Kostoglodov, V.; S. K. Singh; J. A. Santiago; S. I. Franco; K. M. Larson; A. R. Lowry & R. Bilham (2003). "A large silent earthquake in the Guerrero seismic gap, Mexico". Geophysical Research Letters. 30 (15): 1807. Bibcode:2003GeoRL..30.1807K. doi: 10.1029/2003GL017219 .
  6. ↑ Luz Elena Pereyra R. "Dos siglos de temblores". Archived from the original on 2008-02-03. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
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