1902 Guatemala earthquake
UTC time | 1902-04-19 02:23:00 |
---|---|
ISC event | 16957763 |
USGS-ANSS | n/a |
Local date | April 18, 1902 |
Local time | 8:23 p.m.[1] |
Duration | 1–2 min [2] |
Magnitude | 7.5 Mw[3] |
Depth | 25 km (16 mi) [3] |
Epicenter | 14°N 91°W / 14°N 91°W [3] |
Areas affected | Guatemala |
Max. intensity | MMI VIII (Severe) [3] |
Casualties | 800–2,000 [1][3] |
The 1902 Guatemala earthquake occurred on April 18 at 8:23 pm with a moment magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The rupture was initiated at a depth of 25 km (16 mi) and the duration was 1 to 2 minutes.
The
A majority of churches in western Guatemala and eastern Chiapas were either severely devastated or abolished. The number of people killed was between 800 and 2,000.[1][2]
A strange occurrence of heavy rains, lightning, and thunder took place shortly before the earthquake. A few weeks before the earthquake there was rain every afternoon for several days straight. Guatemala City was instantly flooded when massive gaps opened in the streets, water pipes ruptured, and huts along with cathedrals disintegrated and collapsed, which also buried hundreds. In just one hour, approximately 80,000 people were rendered homeless.[4]
As soon as the earthquake struck, the sky cleared up and there was no rain for approximately three weeks. It has been said that the earthquake had something to do with an atmospheric disturbance connected with an electrical nature. The reason for this is that the early storms were
See also
References
- ^ a b c USGS (September 4, 2009), PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, archived from the original on 2020-03-13
- ^ a b White, Ligorria & Cifuentes 2004, p. 394
- ^ a b c d e White, Ligorria & Cifuentes 2004, p. 387
- ISBN 978-1-4381-1878-9.
- JSTOR 197952.
Sources
- White, R.A.; Ligorria, J.P.; Cifuentes, I.L. (2004), "Seismic history of the Middle America subduction zone along El Salvador, Guatemala, and Chiapas, Mexico: 1526–2000", Natural Hazards in El Salvador, vol. 375, ISBN 978-0-8137-2375-4
External links
- Historic World Earthquakes – United States Geological Survey
- Principales Eventos Sísmicos Del Siglo XX En Guatemala – Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrolagía
- The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.