1982 El Salvador earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1982 El Salvador earthquake occurred on 19 June 1982 at 00:21 local time (06:21 UTC). It was an Ms 7.2 earthquake, with epicenter being located in the Pacific Ocean about 60 km southeast of San Salvador
, El Salvador. 8 people were reported dead, and 1630 houses were damaged. The earthquake triggered many landslides. The intensity in San Salvador reached MM VII. The most affected cities are San Salvador, Ahuachapán
, Concepción de Ataco
, Comasagua
, San Miguel
, San Pedro Nonualco
, and San Juan Tepezontes
. This earthquake could be felt in Guatemala
, Honduras, Nicaragua
, and Costa Rica
, with intensities MM V in Guatemala City
, Guatemala, MM IV in Tegucigalpa
, Honduras, MM V in Managua
, Nicaragua, and MM III in San Jose
, Costa Rica. Near the Salvadorian coast, the Cocos Plate
is subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate
at the Middle America Trench. This earthquake was an intra-slab, normal-slip subduction earthquake. The subduction zone and a local system of faults along the volcanic chain are two major sources of the earthquakes in El Salvador. The mechanism of this earthquake had many similarities with the El Salvador earthquake of 13 January 2001.
San Salvador
The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...
, El Salvador. 8 people were reported dead, and 1630 houses were damaged. The earthquake triggered many landslides. The intensity in San Salvador reached MM VII. The most affected cities are San Salvador, Ahuachapán
Ahuachapán
Ahuachapán is a city and municipality and the capital of the Ahuachapán Department in western El Salvador. The municipality including the city covers an area of 244.84 km² and as of 2007 has a population of 110,511 people...
, Concepción de Ataco
Concepción de Ataco
Concepcion de Ataco is a municipality and city within the department Ahuachapán, El Salvador. It has an area of 61.03 km ² and a population of 18,101 inhabitants ....
, Comasagua
Comasagua
Comasagua is a municipality in the La Libertad department of El Salvador....
, San Miguel
San Miguel, El Salvador
San Miguel is the fourth most populous city in El Salvador after Santa Ana and Soyapango and the second most important after San Salvador. It is located 138 km east of the capital, San Salvador. It is also the capital of the department of San Miguel and a municipality...
, San Pedro Nonualco
San Pedro Nonualco
San Pedro Nonualco is a municipality in the La Paz department of El Salvador. It is not a country. More info: :es:San Pedro Nonualco...
, and San Juan Tepezontes
San Juan Tepezontes
San Juan Tepezontes is a municipality in the La Paz department of El Salvador....
. This earthquake could be felt in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, with intensities MM V in Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
, Guatemala, MM IV in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, Honduras, MM V in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, Nicaragua, and MM III in San Jose
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
, Costa Rica. Near the Salvadorian coast, the Cocos Plate
Cocos Plate
The Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it.-Geology:...
is subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate
Caribbean Plate
The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America....
at the Middle America Trench. This earthquake was an intra-slab, normal-slip subduction earthquake. The subduction zone and a local system of faults along the volcanic chain are two major sources of the earthquakes in El Salvador. The mechanism of this earthquake had many similarities with the El Salvador earthquake of 13 January 2001.