1942 Guatemala earthquake

1942 Guatemala earthquake
Date August 6, 1942 UTC
Origin time 23:37 UTC
Magnitude Mw 7.7 [1]
Ms 7.9 [2][3]
Depth 35 km (22 mi)
Epicenter 13°47′N 90°55′W / 13.78°N 90.91°W / 13.78; -90.91Coordinates: 13°47′N 90°55′W / 13.78°N 90.91°W / 13.78; -90.91
Areas affected Guatemala
Casualties 38 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.

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 Guatemala, 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] 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

References

  1. ↑ Engdahl, E. R.; Vallaseñor, A. (2002), "Global seismicity: 1900-1999", International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology (PDF), 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 (Elsevier) 34 (1-2): 41, doi:10.1016/0031-9201(84)90082-7
  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
  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. 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 (Elsevier) 54 (3-4): 273. doi:10.1016/0031-9201(89)90247-1.
  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 (Geological Society of America) 375: 379–396. doi:10.1130/0-8137-2375-2.379.
Sources
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