2022 Guatemala earthquake

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2022 Guatemala earthquake
Escuintla department location map.svg
Bullseye1.png
Relief map of Guatemala.jpg
Bullseye1.png
UTC  time2022-02-16 07:12:25
ISC  event 622036563
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateFebruary 16, 2022
Local time01:12:25 UTC-6
Magnitude6.2 Mw
Depth83.6 km (52 mi)
Epicenter 14°11′35″N91°17′49″W / 14.193°N 91.297°W / 14.193; -91.297
Areas affected Guatemala
Max. intensity MMI VI (Strong)
LandslidesYes
Casualties3 dead, 2 injured [1]

The 2022 Guatemala earthquake occurred on the early morning of February 16, 2022 in the southern regions of Guatemala. The quake measured a moment magnitude of 6.2 and reached a peak intensity of VI (Strong) on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. [2] Damage was widespread but light in and around the capital, Guatemala City, resulting mostly in cracked walls and rockslides. [3] [4]

Contents

Tectonic setting

The coastline of Guatemala lies above the convergent boundary where the Cocos Plate is being subducted beneath the North American Plate or Caribbean Plate along the line of the Middle America Trench. Earthquakes associated with this plate boundary include the 7.4 Mw  2012 Guatemala earthquake that ruptured the plate interface, and the 6.9 Mw  2014 Mexico–Guatemala earthquake caused by faulting within the subducting Cocos Plate. The northern part of the country hosts the Motagua Fault and Chixoy-Polochic Fault, accommodating left-lateral strike-slip movement on the transform boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates. The Motagua Fault was the source of many destructive earthquakes in Northern Guatemala, most notably the 1976 Guatemala earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 Mw . [5] [6]

Earthquake

USGS ShakeMap of the event Earthquake Guatemala 16.2.2022.jpg
USGS ShakeMap of the event

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 according to local seismological agencies but was later revised to 6.2 in the moment magnitude scale by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). [2] The quake, at a depth of 83.6 km (52 mi), reached a peak intensity of VI (Strong) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Modified Mercalli intensities in selected locations [7]
MMI LocationsPopulation exposure
MMI VI (Strong) Nueva Concepción 441,000
MMI V (Moderate) Quetzaltenango, Guatemala City, Escuintla 4.62 million
MMI IV (Light) Chimaltenango, Santa Ana 13.4 million

Damage and casualties

The earthquake caused damage in seven departments of the country. It damaged or destroyed 39 houses and buildings in and around the capital, Guatemala City, and caused multiple landslides blocking roads near the mountains. Three people suffered fatal heart attacks, one each in Mixco, Quetzaltenango, and Baja Verapaz, while two people, including a minor, suffered injuries. [1] [8] [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Guatemala earthquake</span> February 1976 earthquake in Guatemala

The 1976 Guatemala earthquake struck on February 4 at 03:01:43 local time with a moment magnitude of 7.5. The shock was centered on the Motagua Fault, about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City at a depth of 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) near the town of Los Amates in the department of Izabal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motagua Fault</span> Geological fault In Guatemala and Mexico

The Motagua Fault is a major, active left lateral-moving transform fault which cuts across Guatemala. It forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. It is considered the onshore continuation of the Swan Islands Transform Fault and Cayman trench, which run under the Caribbean Sea. Its western end appears not to continue further than its surface trace, where it is covered by Cenozoic volcanics.

The 2009 Swan Islands earthquake occurred on May 28 at 02:24:45 AM local time with a moment magnitude of 7.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The epicenter was located in the Caribbean Sea, 64 kilometres (40 mi) northeast of the island of Roatán, 19 miles northeast of Port Royal, Isla de Bahias, 15 miles northwest of Isla Barbaretta, and 130 kilometres (81 mi) north-northeast of La Ceiba. Three aftershocks followed the earthquake within magnitude 4 range.

The 1999 Oaxaca earthquake occurred on September 30 at 11:31 local time in Oaxaca, Mexico, 60 km NNW of Puerto Ángel. The epicenter was located near San Agustin Loxicha. It had a magnitude of Mw 7.4.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Lorca earthquake</span> Moderate 5.1 Mw earthquake in Spain

The 2011 Lorca earthquake was a moderate 5.1 Mw earthquake that occurred 6:47 p.m. CEST on 11 May 2011, near the town of Lorca, causing significant localized damage in the Region of Murcia, Spain, and panic among locals, and displacing many from their homes. The quake was preceded by a magnitude 4.4 foreshock at 17:05, that inflicted substantial damage to many older structures in the area, including the historical Espolón Tower of Lorca Castle, the Hermitage of San Clemente and the Convent of Virgen de Las Huertas. Three people were killed by a falling cornice. A total of nine deaths have been confirmed, while dozens are reported injured. The earthquake was the worst to hit the region since a 5.0 Mw tremor struck west of Albolote, Granada in 1956.

The 2012 Guerrero–Oaxaca earthquake struck southern Mexico with a moment magnitude of 7.4 at 12:02 local time on Tuesday, 20 March. Its epicenter was near Ometepec, in the border between the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. With a shallow focus of 20 km, the earthquake caused strong shaking over a large area along the Oaxaca–Guerrero border and the adjacent Pacific coastline. Significant tremors were felt in areas up to several hundred kilometers away, including Mexico City and also in Guatemala. Two people were killed and over 30,000 houses were damaged or destroyed.

The 2012 Costa Rica earthquake occurred at 08:42 local time on September 5. The epicenter of the 7.6 Mw earthquake was in the Nicoya Peninsula, 11 kilometers east-southeast of Nicoya. A tsunami warning was issued shortly afterwards, but later cancelled. Two people are known to have died, one from a heart attack and another, a construction worker, crushed by a collapsing wall. It was the second strongest earthquake recorded in Costa Rica's history, following the 1991 Limon earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Chiapas earthquake</span> 8.2 Mw earthquake and tsunami off of Mexico and Guatemala

The 2017 Chiapas earthquake struck at 23:49 CDT on 7 September in the Gulf of Tehuantepec off the southern coast of Mexico near the state of Chiapas, approximately 87 kilometres (54 mi) southwest of Pijijiapan, with a Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The moment magnitude was estimated to be Mw8.2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Valparaíso earthquake</span> Earthquake in Chile

The Valparaíso earthquake of April 2017 was a strong earthquake that shook the cities of Valparaíso and Santiago on Monday, April 24, 2017, at 18:38 local time. Its epicenter was located off the coast of the Valparaíso Region and had a magnitude of 6.9 Mw. On the scale of Mercalli, the earthquake reached an intensity of VII.

The 2017 Guatemala earthquake struck near the city of Malacatán in the San Marcos Department, near the Guatemala–Mexico border at 1:29 am local time (UTC−06:00) on June 14. The earthquake killed five people, and caused 30 injuries, 11 of which were from Chiapas, Mexico across the border. No tsunami warning was issued.

The 2021 Assam earthquake struck 11 km away from Dhekiajuli, Assam, India at 07:51 (IST) on April 28, 2021 with a moment magnitude of 6.0 at 34.0 km (21.1 mi) depth. The quake struck with an epicenter 140 km north of the main city of Guwahati. It resulted in two fatalities and at least 12 injuries.

On February 7, 2021, at 12:22 PM PST, an earthquake measuring Mww  6.0 struck Davao del Sur and Cotabato. The event registered a Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) of VIII (Severe) with VII on the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS).

The 2010 Aguas Buenas earthquake, also referred to as the 2010 Christmas Eve earthquake, occurred on December 24 at 7:43 p.m. local time in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico. It measured 5.1 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). The event was the largest in Puerto Rico since May 16th of the same year, and the largest to impact the San Juan metropolitan area since 1975. The earthquake was felt throughout the island of Puerto Rico, the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra, the American and British Virgin Islands, and even in the Dominican Republic across the Mona Passage.

The 2012 Constitución earthquake was recorded on March 25, 2012, at 7:37 pm local time. It had a moment magnitude of 7.1 and its epicenter was located 23 km (14 mi) northeast of the city of Constitución, in the Maule Region, Chile. According to experts, it was a strong and late aftershock of the Great Chile earthquake of February 27, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Michoacán earthquake</span> 2022 earthquake in Mexico

On 19 September 2022, a moment magnitude 7.6-7.7 earthquake struck between the Mexican states of Michoacán and Colima at 13:05:06 local time. The earthquake had a depth of 26.9 km (16.7 mi), resulting in a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. The USGS reported the epicentre was 35 km (22 mi) southwest of the town of Aquila. Two people were killed and at least 35 others were injured across several states. A magnitude 6.8 aftershock struck on 22 September, causing three more deaths.

The 1991 Guatemala earthquake occurred on September 19 at 9:48 a.m. (GMT). The epicenter was 60 miles southwest of Guatemala City. The shock was assigned a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale, later assigned with a magnitude of 6.2. As a result of the earthquake, 25 deaths and 200 injuries were recorded.

References

  1. 1 2 "Risklayer Explorer". risklayer.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "M 6.2 - 0 km SSE of Nueva Concepción, Guatemala". earthquake.usgs.gov. February 16, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  3. ↑ "Reportan temblor de 6.8 grados este 16 de febrero de 2022 en Guatemala – Prensa Libre" (in Spanish). 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  4. ↑ República.gt. "En imágenes: daños producidos por el terremoto en Guatemala de este 16 de febrero". República.gt (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  5. ↑ Aubouin, Jean; Stephan, Jean Francois; Renard, Vincent; Roump, Jacqueline; Lonsdale, Peter (1981-11-12). "Subduction of the Cocos plate in the Mid America Trench". Nature. 294 (5837): 146–150. Bibcode:1981Natur.294..146A. doi:10.1038/294146a0. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   29451269. S2CID   204999690. Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  6. ↑ "USGS Earthquake Hazards Program » Historic Earthquakes". 2006-04-21. Archived from the original on 21 April 2006. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  7. ↑ "PAGER" (PDF). USGS . 2022-02-16. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  8. ↑ Menchu, Sofia (2022-02-16). "Guatemala earthquake kills two, triggers landslides". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  9. ↑ "Sismo de 6.2 grados deja a tres muertos en Guatemala". primerahora.com (in Spanish). 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-02-17. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Temblor en Guatemala: qué originó el temblor de 6.8 grados que sacudió gran parte del territorio nacional este 16 de febrero" (in Spanish). Prensa Libre. 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
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