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1942 Guatemala earthquake

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1942 Guatemala earthquake
1942 Guatemala earthquake is located in Central America1942 Guatemala earthquake
UTC time1942-08-06 23:37:02
ISC event900408
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateAugust 6, 1942
Local time17:37
MagnitudeMw 7.7
Ms 7.9
Depth35 km (22 mi)
Epicenter13°47′N 90°55′W / 13.78°N 90.91°W / 13.78; -90.91
Areas affectedGuatemala
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, 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, 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. The earthquake could also be felt strongly in Mexico and El Salvador.

This earthquake was a lower crustal intraplate earthquake with a compressional focal mechanism. Tensional activity has been dominant along the down-dip edge along the 1942 rupture zone. 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.

See also

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. ^ 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
  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

External links

Earthquakes in the 1940s
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1946
1947
1948
1949
† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year
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