1987 Ecuador earthquakes

1987 Ecuador earthquakes

Foreshock Mainshock
UTC  time	1987-03-06 04:10:43
ISC  event	471340
USGS-ANSS	ComCat
Local date	March 5, 1987 (1987-03-05)
Local time	23:10:43 ECT
Magnitude	7.1 Mw [1]
Depth	10 km (6.2 mi) [1]
Epicenter	0°04′N77°45′W / 0.07°N 77.75°W / 0.07; -77.75
Total damage	$1 billion [2]
Max. intensity	MMI IX (Violent) [3]
Foreshocks	6.4 Mw March 6 at 01:54 [1]
Aftershocks	6.0 Mw March 6 at 08:14 [1]
Casualties	1,000 dead [4] 4,000 missing [4] 20,000–150,000 displaced [4]

The 1987 Ecuador earthquakes occurred over a six-hour period on March 6, 1987. The sequence of shocks measured 6.7, 7.1, and 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale. The main shock had a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The earthquakes were centered in Napo Province in northeast Ecuador; the epicenters were on the eastern slopes of the Andes, about 75 km ENE of Quito and 25 km north of Reventador Volcano. The earthquakes caused about 1,000 deaths. Four thousand people were missing and damage was estimated at US$1 billion.

See also

• Mass wasting

References

1. ISC (19 January 2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
2. Bolton, P. A. (1991), "Local-level economic and social consequences", The March 5, 1987, Ecuador Earthquakes: Mass Wasting and Socioeconomic Effects, National Academies Press, p. 109, ISBN   978-0309044448
3. Espinoza, A. F.; Egred, J.; Garciá-Lopez, M.; Crespo, E. (1991), "Intensity and damage distribution", The March 5, 1987, Ecuador Earthquakes: Mass Wasting and Socioeconomic Effects, National Academies Press, p. 42, ISBN   978-0309044448
4. PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, September 4, 2009

Sources

• Kawakatsu, H.; Cadena, G. P. (1991), "Focal Mechanisms of the March 6, 1987 Ecuador Earthquakes: CMT inversion with a first motion constraint", Journal of Physics of the Earth, 39 (4): 589–597, doi: 10.4294/jpe1952.39.589

External links

• Officials Fear Quake Killed 300 in Ecuador – Los Angeles Times
• 300 reported dead and 4,000 missing in Ecuador quakes – The New York Times
• The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.