1942 Guatemala earthquake

Last updated
1942 Guatemala earthquake
Relief map of Central America.jpg
Bullseye1.png
UTC  time1942-08-06 23:37:02
ISC  event 900408
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateAugust 6, 1942
Local time17:37
Magnitude Mw 7.7 [1]
Ms 7.9 [2] [3]
Depth35 km (22 mi)
Epicenter 13°47′N90°55′W / 13.78°N 90.91°W / 13.78; -90.91
Areas affected Guatemala
Casualties38 killed

The 1942 Guatemala earthquake occurred at 17:37 local time on August 6 and had ratings of 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and 7.9 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. The epicenter was located off the southern coast of Guatemala, [4] and it was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded there.

Contents

The earthquake caused widespread damage in the west-central highlands of Guatemala. Thirty-eight people died in the earthquake. Landslides caused by the combination of the earthquake and the heavy seasonal rains destroyed roads, the Inter-American Highway, and telegraph lines. In Tecpán, in the department of Chimaltenango, more than 60% of the houses were demolished. Damage was reported in some buildings in Antigua Guatemala, including the Palacio de Los Capitanes Generales and some catholic churches. [5] [6] The earthquake could also be felt strongly in Mexico and El Salvador. [7]

This earthquake was a lower crustal intraplate earthquake with a compressional focal mechanism. [3] [8] [ page needed ] Tensional activity has been dominant along the down-dip edge along the 1942 rupture zone. [9] It was estimated that earthquakes near the Middle America Trench with magnitudes of about 7.5~8.0 occurred at intervals of 94 ± 54 yrs in southwestern Guatemala. Such historical earthquakes included the earthquakes in 1765, 1902, and 1942. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intraplate earthquake</span> Earthquake that occurs within the interior of a tectonic plate

An intraplate earthquake is an earthquake that occurs in the interior of a tectonic plate, in contrast to an interplate earthquake on the boundary of a tectonic plate. It is also called an intraslab earthquake, especially when occurring in a microplate.

The moment magnitude scale is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude based on its seismic moment. Mw  was defined in a 1979 paper by Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori. Similar to the local magnitude/Richter scale (ML ) defined by Charles Francis Richter in 1935, it uses a logarithmic scale; small earthquakes have approximately the same magnitudes on both scales. Despite the difference, news media often use the term "Richter scale" when referring to the moment magnitude scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiroo Kanamori</span> Japanese seismologist

Hiroo Kanamori is a Japanese-American seismologist who has made fundamental contributions to understanding the physics of earthquakes and the tectonic processes that cause them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake</span> Earthquake near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska

The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake occurred near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska on April 1, 1946. The shock measured 8.6, Mt 9.3 or 7.4. It had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). It resulted in 165–173 casualties and over US$26 million in damage. The seafloor along the fault was elevated, triggering a Pacific-wide tsunami with multiple destructive waves at heights ranging from 45–138 ft (14–42 m). The tsunami obliterated the Scotch Cap Lighthouse on Unimak Island, Alaska among others, and killed all five lighthouse keepers. Despite the destruction to the Aleutian Island Unimak, the tsunami had almost an imperceptible effect on the Alaskan mainland.

Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at a given location. Magnitudes are usually determined from measurements of an earthquake's seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram. Magnitude scales vary based on what aspect of the seismic waves are measured and how they are measured. Different magnitude scales are necessary because of differences in earthquakes, the information available, and the purposes for which the magnitudes are used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1902 Guatemala earthquake</span> Severe earthquake in western Guatemala

The 1902 Guatemala earthquake occurred on April 18 at 8:23 pm with a moment magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The rupture was initiated at a depth of 25 km (16 mi) and the duration was 1 to 2 minutes.

Body-waves consist of P-waves that are the first to arrive, or S-waves, or reflections of either. Body-waves travel through rock directly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Nankai earthquake</span> Great earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan measured between 8.1 and 8.4.

The 1946 Nankai earthquake was a great earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan. It occurred on December 21, 1946, at 04:19 JST. The earthquake measured between 8.1 and 8.4 on the moment magnitude scale, and was felt from Northern Honshū to Kyūshū. It occurred almost two years after the 1944 Tōnankai earthquake, which ruptured the adjacent part of the Nankai megathrust.

The 1906 Ecuador–Colombia earthquake occurred at 10:36:10 (UTC+5) on Wednesday January 31, 1906 off the coast of Ecuador, near Esmeraldas. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.8 and triggered a destructive tsunami that caused at least 500 casualties on the coast of Colombia.

The 1965 Rat Islands earthquake occurred at 05:01 UTC, on 4 February. It had a magnitude of 8.7 and triggered a tsunami of over 10 m on Shemya Island, but caused very little damage.

The 1982 El Salvador earthquake occurred southeast of San Salvador on 19 June at 00:21 local time. This undersea earthquake struck offshore in the Pacific Ocean and had a surface wave magnitude of 7.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. Occurring adjacent to a subduction zone at the Middle America Trench, this normal-slip shock left at least 16 and as many as 43 people dead, and many injured, and also inflicted $5 million in damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsunami earthquake</span> Type of earthquake which triggers a tsunami of far-larger magnitude

In seismology, a tsunami earthquake is an earthquake which triggers a tsunami of significantly greater magnitude, as measured by shorter-period seismic waves. The term was introduced by Japanese seismologist Hiroo Kanamori in 1972. Such events are a result of relatively slow rupture velocities. They are particularly dangerous as a large tsunami may arrive at a coastline with little or no warning.

The 1937 Orizaba earthquake occurred on July 26 at 03:47 UTC, near Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico. It had a magnitude of 7.3 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. Thirty four people were reported dead. Damage was reported in Esperanza, Puebla. This was an intraplate earthquake within the subducting Cocos plate.

The 1959 Kamchatka earthquake occurred on May 4 at 19:15 local time with a moment magnitude of 8.0–8.3, and a surface wave magnitude of 8.25. The epicenter was near the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian SFSR, USSR. Building damage was reported in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The maximum intensity was VIII (Damaging) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The intensity in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was about VIII MSK.

The 1971 Solomon Islands earthquakes occurred in the northern part of the Solomon Islands, within Papua New Guinea as a doublet earthquake. The first large shock occurred on July 14 at 06:11 UTC with a magnitude of Mw 8.0. The second large event occurred on July 26 at 01:23 UTC with a magnitude of Mw  8.1. The initial event on July 14 caused a tsunami, which was observed in Rabaul. The earthquake of July 26 triggered a tsunami with a 3.4 m (11 ft) runup in New Britain.

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 1982 Ometepec earthquake that struck Mexico's southwestern coast near Ometepec (Guerrero) on 7 June was a doublet earthquake that ruptured in two steps. The first happened at 06:52 UTC, the second five hours later at 10:59 UTC. Estimated magnitudes are 6.9 and 7.0 on the Ms scale, and 5.8 and 6.0 on the mb scale. The maximum Mercalli intensities were VII and VIII, respectively.

An earthquake occurred on 26 August 2012 at 22:37 local time. The earthquake located off the coast of El Salvador measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and had a focal depth of 16.0 kilometres (10 mi). No deaths were reported, however more than 40 people were injured when they were caught in a tsunami generated by the earthquake. Waves from the tsunami were unusually large for an earthquake of this size. The large waves were attributed to the earthquake's unique rupture characteristic. In addition to the absence of fatalities, damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami was minimal as a result of the sparse population around the affected region and the slow rupture characteristic of the event.

The 1983 Hindu Kush earthquake occurred south of Fayzabad, Badakhshan in northeast Afghanistan at 03:52 PST on December 31, 1983, near the border with Pakistan and the USSR. Striking 214.5 km beneath the Hindu Kush mountains, the moment magnitude 7.4 quake affected three countries, killing at least 26 people and injuring several hundred.

References

  1. ↑ 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. 678, ISBN   978-0124406520
  2. ↑ Dmowska & Lovison 1988, p. 657
  3. 1 2 Astiz, Luciana; Kanamori, Hiroo (1984), "An earthquake doublet in Ometepec, Guerrero, Mexico" (PDF), Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 34 (1–2), Elsevier: 41, Bibcode:1984PEPI...34...24A, doi:10.1016/0031-9201(84)90082-7, archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-23, retrieved 2012-08-04
  4. ↑ Monzón-Despang, Héctor (February 1996), La construcción y el uso del terreno en Guatemala : Su vulnerabilidad sísmica (PDF), Asociacion Guatemalteca de Ingenieros Estrucurales, pp. 107–121, retrieved August 3, 2012[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ ABC (August 11, 1942). "Mundo Hispanoamericano – Fuerte seísmo en Guatemala. Ocho muertos y cuarenta heridos". ABC . p. 17. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Sismología". Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología . Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Historic Earthquakes — Guatemala, 1942 August 06 23:36 UTC". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2016-04-30. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  8. ↑ Dmowska & Lovison 1988
  9. ↑ Lay, Thorne; Astiz, Luciana; Kanamori, Hiroo; Christensen, Douglas (1989). "Temporal variation of large intraplate earthquakes in coupled subduction zones" (PDF). Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors. 54 (3–4). Elsevier: 273. Bibcode:1989PEPI...54..258L. doi:10.1016/0031-9201(89)90247-1. hdl: 2027.42/27966 .
  10. ↑ White, Randall A.; Ligorría, Juan Pablo; Cifuentes, Ines Lucia (2004). "Seismic history of the Middle America subduction zone along El Salvador, Guatemala, and Chiapas, Mexico: 1526–2000". GSA Special Papers. 375. Geological Society of America: 379–396. doi:10.1130/0-8137-2375-2.379. ISBN   978-0-8137-2375-4.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.