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1976 Guatemala earthquake

January 30, 2023

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.[1]

1976 Guatemala earthquake
UTC time1976-02-04 09:01:46
ISC event717474
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateFebruary 4, 1976 (1976-02-04)
Local time03:01:43
Magnitude7.5 Mw
Depth5 kilometres (3 mi)
Epicenter15°19′N 89°06′W / 15.32°N 89.10°W / 15.32; -89.10Coordinates: 15°19′N 89°06′W / 15.32°N 89.10°W / 15.32; -89.10
FaultMotagua Fault
TypeStrike-slip
Areas affectedGuatemala
Max. intensityIX (Violent) [1]
Casualties23,000 fatalities, 76,000 injured

The earthquake ruptured a continuous length of 240 km along the Motagua fault and may have extended further to the east and west but was blocked by vegetation and swamps.

Cities throughout the country suffered damage, and most adobe type houses in the outlying areas of Guatemala City were destroyed. The earthquake struck during the early morning (at 3:01 am, local time) when most people were asleep. This contributed to the high death toll of 23,000. Approximately 76,000 were injured, and many thousands left homeless. Some of the areas affected went without electricity and communications for days.

The main shock was followed by thousands of aftershocks, some of the larger ones causing additional damage and loss of life.[2]

Seismic data

The quake's epicentre was located near the town of Los Amates, in the eastern part of the Motagua Fault, a left-lateral strike-slip fault that forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate.[1] Ground shaking was felt during approximately 39 seconds, and caused visible rupturing over 230 kilometres (143 mi) along the Motagua fault, while the inferred length of faulting—based on aftershock registration—was estimated at 100 cm. Average horizontal displacement along the Motagua fault was 5 kilometres (3 mi) with a maximum displacement of 300 cm.[1]

Maximum seismic intensity (MMI IX) was located in the Mixco area, some sections of Guatemala City and in Gualán. A seismic intensity of MM VI covered an area of 33,000 km2.[1] Soil liquefaction and sand boils were observed in several locations with high seismic intensity. The main quake activated secondary fault zones, including the Mixco fault, located in a densely populated area just north-west of Guatemala City.

Victims and damage

The most heavily affected area covered some 30,000 km2, with a population of 2.5 million. Some 23,000 people were reported dead and 77,000 wounded. Approximately 258,000 houses were destroyed, leaving about 1.2 million people homeless. 40% of the national hospital infrastructure was destroyed, while other health facilities also suffered substantial damage.[3]

International reaction

Immediately after the earthquake, the then president Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García invited most of the foreign ambassadors to tour the affected regions by helicopter, which prompted them to quickly ask for help in their home countries. For example, the United States of America rebuilt most of the roads, and Canada and Belgium each rebuilt a village.[citation needed]

Within days of the initial rupture the USGS sent a team of geologist to document the fault rupture and its effects. This team headed by George Plafker traveled the entire length of the fault by helicopter and was able to clearly trace its location. During this expedition several thousand photographs were collected including 1:10,000 aierial photographs collected by plane. In 2021 this analog data was digitized and georeferenced in order to build a database to assist in relocating the initial rupture location. During the summer of 2021 a team of geologist successfully relocated the fault rupture at 10 different locations. At the locations no evidence of post 1976 fault creep was observed.2021, McEnaney T., and Niemi, T.M., Building a georeferenced database for the 1976 Guatemalan Earthquake rupture of the Motagua fault system along the North American- Caribbean Plate Boundary: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 53, no. 6, https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2021AM-370687.


Aftershocks

Several aftershocks, ranging from 5.2 to 5.8 Mw caused additional casualties and hampered relief efforts.

Date Origin Time Coordinates Location Depth Magnitude
Feb. 04 1976 09.30.28.3 14°42′N 90°36′W / 14.7°N 90.6°W / 14.7; -90.6 7 km NNE of Mixco 5 km 5.8 Mw 
Feb. 06 1976 04.11.03.3 14°36′N 91°06′W / 14.6°N 91.1°W / 14.6; -91.1 6 km SSE of San Lucas Tolimán 5 km 4.8 Mw 
Feb. 06 1976 18.11.59.2 14°18′N 90°12′W / 14.3°N 90.2°W / 14.3; -90.2 11 km ENE of Cuilapa 5 km 5.2 Mw 
Feb. 06 1976 18.19.17.7 14°42′N 90°36′W / 14.7°N 90.6°W / 14.7; -90.6 5 km ENE of San Pedro Sacatepéquez 5 km 5.8 Mw 
Feb. 08 1976 08.13.51.9 15°42′N 88°30′W / 15.7°N 88.5°W / 15.7; -88.5 13 km SE of Puerto Barrios 5 km 5.7 Mw 
Feb. 09 1976 11.44.46.7 15°18′N 89°06′W / 15.3°N 89.1°W / 15.3; -89.1 30 km WSW of Morales 5 km 5.1 Mw 
Feb. 10 1976 06.17.43.0 15°00′N 89°42′W / 15.0°N 89.7°W / 15.0; -89.7 18 km WNW of Zacapa 5 km 4.7 Mw 
Mar. 07 1976 02.54.05.4 14°54′N 90°54′W / 14.9°N 90.9°W / 14.9; -90.9 14.5 km SW of Joyabaj 5 km 4.8 Mw 
Mar. 07 1976 03.15.40.3 14°42′N 90°30′W / 14.7°N 90.5°W / 14.7; -90.5 Chinautla (9 km North of Guatemala City) 5 km 4.9 Mw 
Source: Wayerly Person, William Spence, and James W. Dewey. Main event and principal aftershocks from teleseismic data. In: Guatemalan Earthquake of February 4, 1976, A Preliminary Report.

In popular culture

Scenes of the earthquake's aftermath, filmed on February 6, 1976, were featured in the Italian Mondo film Savana violenta, directed by Antonio Climati and Mario Morra.

Image gallery

  • Guatemala City
  •  

    Hotel Terminal

  •  

    Landslide in Guatemala City

  •  

    Guatemala City centre

  • Antigua Guatemala
  •  

    Society of Jesus church ruins in 1896.

  •  

    Jesuit church façade, stabilized in the 21st century. Note the damage to the structure after the 1976 earthquake.

  •  

    "Nuestra Señora del Carmen" church en 1896.

  •  

    Same church in 2010, after the 1976 earthquake.

  •  

    Iglesia de La Recolección in 1875. The only surviving arch was a symbol of Antigua Guatemala ruins for many years.

  •  

    La Recolección in 2005. The 1917 and 1976 earthquakes destroyed what was left of the iconic arch.

  • Rural Guatemala
  •  

    Bent rails in Gualán

  •  

    Motagua Fault in Gualán

  •  

    Patzicía destroyed

  •  

    Puente de Agua Caliente, on the road to Coban

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e NOAA database
  2. ^ Historic Earthquakes 2007-04-10 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Olcese (e.a.), 1977

References

  • Bates, F.L.; Killian, C.D.; Daniel G.R. & Klein, R.E. (1979). "Emergency Food Programmes following the 1976 Guatemalan Earthquake: An Evaluation: Final Report" (PDF). Washington: USAID.
  • Bucknam, R.C.; Plafker, George; Sharp, R.V. (March 1978). "Fault movement (afterslip) following the Guatemala earthquake of February 4, 1976". Geology. 6 (3): 170–173. Bibcode:1978Geo.....6..170B. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1978)6<170:FMAFTG>2.0.CO;2.
  • Langer, C.V.; G.A. Bollinger. "Secondary faulting near the terminus of a seismogenic strike-slip fault: aftershocks of the 1976 Guatemala earthquake". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 69 (2): 427–444.
  • Matumoto, Tosimatu; Latham, Gary V. (1976). "Aftershocks of the Guatemalan earthquake of February 4, 1976". Geophysical Research Letters. 3 (10): 599–602. Bibcode:1976GeoRL...3..599M. doi:10.1029/GL003i010p00599.
  • Olcese, Orlando; Ramón Moreno & Francisco Ibarra (July 1977). "The Guatemala Earthquake Disaster of 1976: A Review of its Effects and of the contribution of the United Nations family". UNDP, Guatemala.
  • Olson, Robert A.; Richard Stuart Olson (1977). (PDF). Mass Emergencies: 69–81. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  • Plafker, G. (1976). "Tectonic aspects of the Guatemala earthquake of 4 February 1976". Science. 193 (4259): 1201–1208. Bibcode:1976Sci...193.1201P. doi:10.1126/science.193.4259.1201. PMID 17837005.
  • Plafker, G.; M.G. Bonilla & S.B. Bonis (1976). Geologic effects in the Guatemala Earthquake of February 4, 1976, a preliminary Report. Professional Paper 1002 (Report). Washington: USGS. pp. 38–51.
  • USGS (May–June 1976). "Guatemalan Quake Culprit Fault Identified". Earthquake Information Bulletin. 8 (3).
  • Young, Christopher J.; Thorne Lay & Christopher S. Lynnes (June 1989). "Rupture of the 4 February 1976 Guatemalan earthquake". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 79 (3): 670–689.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1976 Guatemala earthquake.
  • The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.

January 30, 2023
1976, guatemala, earthquake, struck, february, local, time, with, moment, magnitude, shock, centered, motagua, fault, about, northeast, guatemala, city, depth, kilometers, near, town, amates, department, izabal, show, central, americashow, guatemalautc, time19. 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 1 1976 Guatemala earthquakeShow map of Central AmericaShow map of GuatemalaUTC time1976 02 04 09 01 46ISC event717474USGS ANSSComCatLocal dateFebruary 4 1976 1976 02 04 Local time03 01 43Magnitude7 5 MwDepth5 kilometres 3 mi Epicenter15 19 N 89 06 W 15 32 N 89 10 W 15 32 89 10 Coordinates 15 19 N 89 06 W 15 32 N 89 10 W 15 32 89 10FaultMotagua FaultTypeStrike slipAreas affectedGuatemalaMax intensityIX Violent 1 Casualties23 000 fatalities 76 000 injuredThe earthquake ruptured a continuous length of 240 km along the Motagua fault and may have extended further to the east and west but was blocked by vegetation and swamps Cities throughout the country suffered damage and most adobe type houses in the outlying areas of Guatemala City were destroyed The earthquake struck during the early morning at 3 01 am local time when most people were asleep This contributed to the high death toll of 23 000 Approximately 76 000 were injured and many thousands left homeless Some of the areas affected went without electricity and communications for days The main shock was followed by thousands of aftershocks some of the larger ones causing additional damage and loss of life 2 Contents 1 Seismic data 2 Victims and damage 3 International reaction 4 Aftershocks 5 In popular culture 6 Image gallery 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksSeismic data EditThe quake s epicentre was located near the town of Los Amates in the eastern part of the Motagua Fault a left lateral strike slip fault that forms part of the tectonic boundary between the North American plate and the Caribbean plate 1 Ground shaking was felt during approximately 39 seconds and caused visible rupturing over 230 kilometres 143 mi along the Motagua fault while the inferred length of faulting based on aftershock registration was estimated at 100 cm Average horizontal displacement along the Motagua fault was 5 kilometres 3 mi with a maximum displacement of 300 cm 1 Maximum seismic intensity MMI IX was located in the Mixco area some sections of Guatemala City and in Gualan A seismic intensity of MM VI covered an area of 33 000 km2 1 Soil liquefaction and sand boils were observed in several locations with high seismic intensity The main quake activated secondary fault zones including the Mixco fault located in a densely populated area just north west of Guatemala City Victims and damage EditThe most heavily affected area covered some 30 000 km2 with a population of 2 5 million Some 23 000 people were reported dead and 77 000 wounded Approximately 258 000 houses were destroyed leaving about 1 2 million people homeless 40 of the national hospital infrastructure was destroyed while other health facilities also suffered substantial damage 3 International reaction EditImmediately after the earthquake the then president Kjell Eugenio Laugerud Garcia invited most of the foreign ambassadors to tour the affected regions by helicopter which prompted them to quickly ask for help in their home countries For example the United States of America rebuilt most of the roads and Canada and Belgium each rebuilt a village citation needed Within days of the initial rupture the USGS sent a team of geologist to document the fault rupture and its effects This team headed by George Plafker traveled the entire length of the fault by helicopter and was able to clearly trace its location During this expedition several thousand photographs were collected including 1 10 000 aierial photographs collected by plane In 2021 this analog data was digitized and georeferenced in order to build a database to assist in relocating the initial rupture location During the summer of 2021 a team of geologist successfully relocated the fault rupture at 10 different locations At the locations no evidence of post 1976 fault creep was observed 2021 McEnaney T and Niemi T M Building a georeferenced database for the 1976 Guatemalan Earthquake rupture of the Motagua fault system along the North American Caribbean Plate Boundary Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs v 53 no 6 https doi org 10 1130 abs 2021AM 370687 Aftershocks EditSeveral aftershocks ranging from 5 2 to 5 8 Mw caused additional casualties and hampered relief efforts Date Origin Time Coordinates Location Depth MagnitudeFeb 04 1976 09 30 28 3 14 42 N 90 36 W 14 7 N 90 6 W 14 7 90 6 7 km NNE of Mixco 5 km 5 8 Mw Feb 06 1976 04 11 03 3 14 36 N 91 06 W 14 6 N 91 1 W 14 6 91 1 6 km SSE of San Lucas Toliman 5 km 4 8 Mw Feb 06 1976 18 11 59 2 14 18 N 90 12 W 14 3 N 90 2 W 14 3 90 2 11 km ENE of Cuilapa 5 km 5 2 Mw Feb 06 1976 18 19 17 7 14 42 N 90 36 W 14 7 N 90 6 W 14 7 90 6 5 km ENE of San Pedro Sacatepequez 5 km 5 8 Mw Feb 08 1976 08 13 51 9 15 42 N 88 30 W 15 7 N 88 5 W 15 7 88 5 13 km SE of Puerto Barrios 5 km 5 7 Mw Feb 09 1976 11 44 46 7 15 18 N 89 06 W 15 3 N 89 1 W 15 3 89 1 30 km WSW of Morales 5 km 5 1 Mw Feb 10 1976 06 17 43 0 15 00 N 89 42 W 15 0 N 89 7 W 15 0 89 7 18 km WNW of Zacapa 5 km 4 7 Mw Mar 07 1976 02 54 05 4 14 54 N 90 54 W 14 9 N 90 9 W 14 9 90 9 14 5 km SW of Joyabaj 5 km 4 8 Mw Mar 07 1976 03 15 40 3 14 42 N 90 30 W 14 7 N 90 5 W 14 7 90 5 Chinautla 9 km North of Guatemala City 5 km 4 9 Mw Source Wayerly Person William Spence and James W Dewey Main event and principal aftershocks from teleseismic data In Guatemalan Earthquake of February 4 1976 A Preliminary Report In popular culture EditScenes of the earthquake s aftermath filmed on February 6 1976 were featured in the Italian Mondo film Savana violenta directed by Antonio Climati and Mario Morra Image gallery EditGuatemala City Hotel Terminal Landslide in Guatemala City Guatemala City centreAntigua Guatemala Society of Jesus church ruins in 1896 Jesuit church facade stabilized in the 21st century Note the damage to the structure after the 1976 earthquake Nuestra Senora del Carmen church en 1896 Same church in 2010 after the 1976 earthquake Iglesia de La Recoleccion in 1875 The only surviving arch was a symbol of Antigua Guatemala ruins for many years La Recoleccion in 2005 The 1917 and 1976 earthquakes destroyed what was left of the iconic arch Rural Guatemala Bent rails in Gualan Motagua Fault in Gualan Patzicia destroyed Puente de Agua Caliente on the road to CobanSee also EditList of earthquakes in 1976 List of earthquakes in GuatemalaNotes Edit a b c d e NOAA database Historic Earthquakes Archived 2007 04 10 at the Wayback Machine Olcese e a 1977References EditBates F L Killian C D Daniel G R amp Klein R E 1979 Emergency Food Programmes following the 1976 Guatemalan Earthquake An Evaluation Final Report PDF Washington USAID Bucknam R C Plafker George Sharp R V March 1978 Fault movement afterslip following the Guatemala earthquake of February 4 1976 Geology 6 3 170 173 Bibcode 1978Geo 6 170B doi 10 1130 0091 7613 1978 6 lt 170 FMAFTG gt 2 0 CO 2 Langer C V G A Bollinger Secondary faulting near the terminus of a seismogenic strike slip fault aftershocks of the 1976 Guatemala earthquake Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 69 2 427 444 Matumoto Tosimatu Latham Gary V 1976 Aftershocks of the Guatemalan earthquake of February 4 1976 Geophysical Research Letters 3 10 599 602 Bibcode 1976GeoRL 3 599M doi 10 1029 GL003i010p00599 Olcese Orlando Ramon Moreno amp Francisco Ibarra July 1977 The Guatemala Earthquake Disaster of 1976 A Review of its Effects and of the contribution of the United Nations family UNDP Guatemala Olson Robert A Richard Stuart Olson 1977 The Guatemala earthquake of 4 February 1976 Social science observations and research suggestions PDF Mass Emergencies 69 81 Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 27 Retrieved 2010 04 29 Plafker G 1976 Tectonic aspects of the Guatemala earthquake of 4 February 1976 Science 193 4259 1201 1208 Bibcode 1976Sci 193 1201P doi 10 1126 science 193 4259 1201 PMID 17837005 Plafker G M G Bonilla amp S B Bonis 1976 Geologic effects in the Guatemala Earthquake of February 4 1976 a preliminary Report Professional Paper 1002 Report Washington USGS pp 38 51 USGS May June 1976 Guatemalan Quake Culprit Fault Identified Earthquake Information Bulletin 8 3 Young Christopher J Thorne Lay amp Christopher S Lynnes June 1989 Rupture of the 4 February 1976 Guatemalan earthquake Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 79 3 670 689 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1976 Guatemala earthquake USGS Map Guatemala Earthquake 1976 photos and personal accounts The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and or authoritative data for this event Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1976 Guatemala earthquake amp oldid 1127602983, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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