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Significant Earthquake

Date Earthquake Location Earthquake Parameters
Focal
Depth		 Magnitude MMI Int
Year Mo Dy Hr Mn Sec Name Latitude Longitude Mw Ms Mb Ml Mfa Unk
1976 2 4 9 1 43.4 GUATEMALA: CHIMALTENANGO, GUATEMALA CITY 15.324 -89.101 5 7.5 6.2 9


Significant Earthquake
Earthquake Effects Total Effects (Earthquake and Tsunami, Volcano, etc.)
Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses
Destroyed		 Houses
Damaged		 Deaths Missing Injuries Damage Houses
Destroyed		 Houses
Damaged
Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De Num De Num De Num De $Mill De Num De Num De
23000 4 76000 4 2147.000 4 23000 4 76000 4 2147.000 4


Comments for the Significant Earthquake

Comments for the Significant Earthquake

Display listing of nearby significant earthquakes

The Guatemalan earthquake of February 4, 1976, with a surface-wave magnitude of 7.6, was generated by left-lateral slippage on the Motagua fault and was felt over an area of at least 100,000 km2. This earthquake claimed more than 22,700 lives and injured more than 76,000 people. The preliminary estimate of losses is about $1,100,000,000.

Ground breakage was observed and mapped for a distance of nearly 240 km along a segment of the fault. It is the longest surface rupture to have occurred in America since 1906. The inferred total length of faulting is nearly 300 km, postulated on the basis of small aftershocks and high damage concentration west of Guatemala City. Maximum horizontal slippage as measured on the fault, about 26 km north of Guatemala City, was 326 cm. The average horizontal displacement is approximately 100 cm. Slippage also occurred on a number of secondary faults and caused damage to houses and other structures in the vicinity of Guatemala City.

The February 4 earthquake caused extensive landsliding along the highway that leads from Guatemala City to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Landslides also blocked many railroads and destroyed many communication routes in the highlands of Guatemala. A large landslide near Tecpan covered two small villages and dammed a river. Additional landslides were triggered by aftershock activity.

The maximum Modified Mercalli intensity was IX in the Mixco area, in some sections of Guatemala City, and in Gualhn. The Modified Mercalli intensity reached VI over an area of 33,000 km2. The concentration of high intensities observed near the western end of the Motagua fault suggests the influence of a westward-propagating fault rupture.

Communities and small towns that suffered 100 percent damage covered an area of 1,700 km2. At some localities, adobe structures near the causative fault (within 10 km) were essentially undamaged; at greater distances from the fault in the highlands, there was widespread collapse of adobe buildings. Modern earthquake-resistive structures in Guatemala City were damaged, including several hospitals. Several water tanks and corrugated-steel grain silos and numerous heavy parapets collapsed.

(above from reference #3343)

This event is located near Los Amateos about 157 km northeast of Guatemala City. It was generated by a left-lateral slippage of about 1 m on the Motagua fault. An estimated 23,000 were killed, more than 76,000 were injured, and it was felt over an area of at least 100,000 sq km. The maximum MM intensity was IX in the Mixco area. In some sections of Guatemala City and in Gualan, the MM Intensity reached VI over an area of 33,000 sq km. Communities and small towns that suffered 100% adobe damage covered an area of 1,700 sq km. Ground breakage was observed in a continuous, well defined line from 230 km extending from near Quebradas in the lower Motagua Valley on the east to about 10 km east of Patzaj on the west. At the closest point the fault is 25 km north of Guatemala City. Damage reported in El Salvador, Honduras and southeastern Mexico. Also felt in other areas of Central America. (Reference #1053)

23,000 deaths, $2147 million damage. (reference #1280)

22,400 deaths, $6000 million damage. (reference #1232)

23,000 killed, 76,000 injured, 435,000 homeless. (reference #1177)

23,000 killed, 4,993,000 affected, $1000 million damage. (reference #1250)


References for the Significant Earthquake

References for the Significant Earthquake

ID Author Year Citation
45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1928-1986 United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
1051 Munchener Ruckversicherungs-Gesellschaft 1998 World Map of Natural Hazards, Munich Federal Republic of Germany
1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) 1971 to present Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to present.
1177 White, R.A., and D.H. Harlow 1985 Catalog of significant shallow earthquakes of Central America since 1900. IASPEI/UNESCO Working Group on Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes, August 27-28, 1985, Tokyo; Preliminary Proceedings, p. 453-459.
1231 Berz, G. 1988 List of Major Natural Disasters, 1960-1987. Natural Hazards, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 97-99.
1250 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) 2001 EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, link
1280 El Centro Regional de Informacion sobre Desastres (CRID) 2002 Regional Disaster Information Center for Latin American and the Caribbean, San Jose, Costa Rica. Retrieved February 27, 2002 from link
3343 Espinosa, A.F., editor 1976 The Guatemalan Earthquake of February 4, 1976, A Preliminary Report. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1002, 90 p.