1979 Tumaco earthquake

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1979 Tumaco earthquake
Colombia relief location map.jpg
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UTC  time1979-12-12 07:59:05
ISC  event 654039
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateDecember 12, 1979 (1979-12-12)
Local time02:59:05 COT
Magnitude8.2 Mw [1]
Depth33 km (21 mi) [2]
Epicenter 1°35′53″N79°21′29″W / 1.598°N 79.358°W / 1.598; -79.358 [2]
Type Megathrust
Areas affected Colombia, Ecuador
Total damage$8 million [3]
Max. intensity MMI IX (Violent)
Tsunami6 m (20 ft) [3]
Casualties300–600 [3]

The 1979 Tumaco earthquake occurred at 02:59 local time on 12 December with a moment magnitude of 8.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The epicenter was just offshore from the border between Ecuador and Colombia, near the port city of Tumaco. It triggered a major tsunami, which was responsible for most of the estimated 300–600 deaths. The hardest hit area was Colombia's Nariño Department. [2]

Contents

Tectonic setting

Coastal parts of Ecuador and southern Colombia lie above the convergent boundary where the Malpelo plate subducts beneath the South American plate along the Colombia–Ecuador Trench. At this location the Malpelo plate, the microplate northeast of the Nazca plate, is moving to the east relative to South America at a rate of 58 mm per year. [4] North of the Carnegie Ridge, the subduction interface has four recognisable segments, from south to north, the Esmeraldas, Manglares, Tumaco and Patia segments. [5] This plate boundary has been the location of several great historical earthquakes, most associated with damaging tsunamis. In 1906, a 5–600 km long segment of the plate interface ruptured, causing a M 8.8 earthquake (rupturing all four segments) and a trans-Pacific tsunami. [1]

Earthquake

This event was the last of three earthquakes that ruptured adjacent parts of the plate interface, forming a northeastward migrating sequence. The 1942 earthquake ruptured the Esmeraldas segment, the 1958 earthquake ruptured the Manglares segment and the 1979 event ruptured the Tumaco and Patia segments. [5] Together they ruptured the same part of the megathrust as the 1906 earthquake. [4] The rupture area of the 1979 earthquake measured 280 km long by 130 km wide. [6]

The earthquake was widely felt in both Ecuador (including Guayaquil, Esmeraldas and Quito) and Colombia (including Bogotá, Cali, Popayán and Buenaventura). [7] The coast in the epicentral region subsided by up to 1.6 m during the earthquake and the land movement locally disrupted river drainage. [8]

Tsunami

The coast nearest the epicenter was hit by the first wave of the tsunami about three minutes after the earthquake. Three to four waves were observed, with the third being the highest. The third wave coincided with low tide, greatly reducing the extent of the inundation and the likely death toll. [9] The maximum observed water height was 6.0 m at San Juan de la Costa, northeast of Tumaco. The tsunami was observed on the east coast of Japan, in Hawaii, Tahiti and Mexico. [9]

Damage

The earthquake caused widespread damage, particularly in Tumaco, where about a tenth of all buildings were destroyed, including 1,280 houses, and 25 people were reported either dead or missing. [2] [7] The fishing village of Charco was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami, the waves washing the houses inland into a nearby lake. 93 of the original population of 4,000 were reported either dead or missing. The tsunami also destroyed all the houses in San Juan de la Costa, with 199 reported either dead or missing. The total death toll was estimated to be 500–600 with another 4,000 injured. [7]

Aftermath

The damage caused by this earthquake and the 1983 Popayán earthquake, near central Colombia, led to the development of a national building code for earthquake-resistant structures for Colombia, [10] which came into law in 1984. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The 1797 Sumatra earthquake occurred at 22:00 local time on 10 February. It was the first in a series of great earthquakes that ruptured part of the Sumatran segment of the Sunda megathrust. It caused a damaging tsunami that was particularly severe near Padang, where a 150–200 t English ship was driven 1 km (0.62 mi) inland up the Arau River.

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 1881 Nicobar Islands earthquake occurred at about 07:49 local time on 31 December, with an epicentre beneath Car Nicobar. It occurred as two separate ruptures, the largest of which had an estimated magnitude of 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale and triggered a tsunami that was observed around the Bay of Bengal. It is probably the earliest earthquake for which rupture parameters have been estimated instrumentally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 Tōnankai earthquake</span> Earthquake and tsunami affecting southern Japan

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The 1968 Hyūga-nada earthquake occurred on April 1 at 09:42 local time. The earthquake had a magnitude of Mw 7.5, and the epicenter was located in Hyūga-nada Sea, off the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, Japan. The magnitude of this earthquake was also given as MJMA 7.5. A tsunami was observed. One person was killed, and 22 people were reported injured. The intensity reached shindo 5 in Miyazaki and Kōchi.

The 1958 Ecuador–Colombia earthquake struck the coastal regions of Ecuador and Colombia on January 19 with a surface-wave magnitude of 7.6 at 9:07 local time. Approximately 30 percent of Esmeraldas (Ecuador) was destroyed, including the children's department of the hospital, where three children died. At least 111 persons died and 45 were injured as a result of the earthquake. Water mains were broken and power transmission lines were damaged. The Esmeraldas-Quito highway collapsed at many places. Many other roads of the country were made impassable by cracks and fallen trees. According to press reports, a landslide from the slopes of the Andes at Panado village buried a hundred people. The earthquake was destructive in the cities on the northern coast of the country and was strong from Latacunga to Quito, Ibarra and Tulcán. It was felt at Guayaquil.

The 1746 Lima–Callao earthquake occurred at 22:30 local time on 28 October with a moment magnitude of 8.6–8.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The epicenter was located about 90 km (56 mi) north-northwest of the capital Lima, which was almost completely destroyed, and the subsequent tsunami devastated the port city of Callao. It was the deadliest earthquake in Peru's history prior to the 1970 earthquake.

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 1953 Tumbes earthquake occurred on December 12 at 12:31:29 local time near the border between Peru and Ecuador. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.5, a maximum Mercalli Intensity of VIII (Severe), and occurred in the northwestern offshore area of Tumbes, Peru.

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 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">1918 Celebes Sea earthquake</span> Earthquake in the Philippines

The 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake occurred on August 15 at 12:18 UTC near the Moro Gulf coast of Mindanao. It had a magnitude of 8.3 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a tsunami of up to 7 m in height and the combined effects of the earthquake and tsunami led to the deaths of 52 people.

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.

The 1942 Ecuador earthquake or the Guayaquil earthquake occurred on 13 May at 21:13 local time with a moment magnitude of Mw  7.9. The temblor struck the coastal (Esmeraldas) region of Manabí Province, Ecuador. It caused damage mainly to cities including Guayaquil, Portoviejo and Guaranda. More than 300 people were killed and the total cost of damage was about US$2.5 million. Ecuador's largest city Guayaquil was the most affected despite the significant distantce from the epicenter. Many reinforced concrete structures in a particular area in the city were completely destroyed, contributing to fatalities.

On April 13, 1923, at 15:31 UTC, an earthquake occurred off the northern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the USSR, present-day Russia. The earthquake had a surface-wave magnitude (Ms ) of 6.8–7.3 and an estimated moment magnitude (Mw ) of 7.0–8.2. This event came just two months after a slightly larger earthquake with an epicenter struck south of the April event. Both earthquakes were tsunamigenic although the latter generated wave heights far exceeding that of the one in February. After two foreshocks of "moderate force", the main event caused considerable damage. Most of the 36 casualties were the result of the tsunami inundation rather than the earthquake.

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The 1979 Yapen earthquake occurred on September 12 at 05:17:51 UTC. It had an epicenter near the coast of Yapen Island in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Measuring 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale and having a depth of 20 km (12 mi), it caused severe damage on the island. At least 115 were killed due to shaking and a moderate tsunami.

The 1979 Saint Elias earthquake affected Alaska at 12:27 AKST on 28 February. The thrust-faulting Mw 7.5 earthquake had an epicenter in the Granite Mountains. Though the maximum recorded Modified Mercalli intensity was VII, damage was minimal and there were no casualties due to the remoteness of the faulting. Damage also extended across the border in parts of Yukon, Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 Kanamori, H.; McNally, K.C. (1982). "Variable rupture model of the subduction zone along the Ecuador-Colombia coast" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 72 (4): 1241–1253. Retrieved 26 August 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K.
  3. 1 2 3 PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, September 4, 2009
  4. 1 2 White, S.M.M.; Trenkamp R. & Kellogg J.N. (2003). "Recent crustal deformation and the earthquake cycle along the Ecuador-Colombia subduction zone" (PDF). Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 216 (3): 231–242. Bibcode:2003E&PSL.216..231W. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00535-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 Maraillou, B.; Spence G., Collot J.-Y. & Wang K. (2006). "Thermal regime from bottom simulating reflectors along the north Ecuador-south Colombia margin: Relation to margin segmentation and great subduction earthquakes". Journal of Geophysical Research . 111 (B12407): n/a. Bibcode:2006JGRB..11112407M. doi: 10.1029/2005JB004239 .
  6. ↑ Herd, D.G.; Youd, T.L.; Meyer, H.; Arango, J.L.; Oerson, W.J.; Mendoza, C. (1981). "The Great Tumaco, Colombia Earthquake of 12 December 1979". Science . 211 (4481): 441–445. Bibcode:1981Sci...211..441H. doi:10.1126/science.211.4481.441. PMID   17816596.
  7. 1 2 3 Soloviev, S.L.; Kim K. & CGO Staff (1997). Catalog of Tsunamis in the Pacific, 1969–1982. DIANE Publishing. pp. 131–132. ISBN   978-0-7881-3931-4 . Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  8. ↑ Restrepo, J.D.; Kjerfve B. (2000). "Water Discharge and Sediment Load from the Western Slopes of the Colombian Andes with Focus on Rio San Juan" (PDF). The Journal of Geology. 108 (1): 17–33. Bibcode:2000JG....108...17R. doi:10.1086/314390. PMID   10618188. S2CID   36366127. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 National Geophysical Data Center. "Comments for the Tsunami Event" . Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  10. ↑ García, L.E. (1984). "Development of the Colombian Seismic Code" (PDF). Proceedings of the Eighth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. pp. 747–754. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Garcia, L.E.; Perez A. & Bonacci J. (1996). "Cost implications of drift controlled design of reinforced concrete buildings" (PDF). Paper No. 548, Eleventh World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Elsevier . Retrieved 25 August 2012.
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