What kind of a plate boundary did the 1985 Mexico City earthquake occur?
What kind of a plate boundary did the 1985 Mexico City earthquake occur?
Exactly 32 years ago, on 19 September 1985, a collision between the Cocos and North American plates caused a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that devastated Mexico City and killed 10,000 people.
What event occurred in 1985 that changed the face of Mexico City?
Mexico City earthquake of 1985, also called Michoacán earthquake of 1985, severe earthquake that occurred on September 19, 1985, off the coast of the Mexican state of Michoacán, causing widespread death and injuries and catastrophic damage in Mexico’s capital, Mexico City.
What details describe the events that occurred during the earthquake in Mexico City in 1985?
On September 19, 1985, a powerful earthquake strikes Mexico City and leaves 10,000 people dead, 30,000 injured and thousands more homeless. At 7:18 in the morning, the residents of Mexico City were jolted awake by an 8.1-magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest to ever hit the area.
How did Mexico City liquefaction work?
Mexico City’s lakebed geology also make it prone to an even more dramatic disaster: liquefaction. When soils are saturated with water, intense shaking can cause them to lose their solid structures and begin acting like a liquid—to the point that the ground can swallow up cars like quick sand.
Why was the 1985 Mexico City earthquake so bad?
Most of the earthquake damage was to buildings. Two reasons are the resonance in the lakebed sediments and the long duration of the shaking. The buildings most damaged were from 6 to 15 stories in height. These buildings tended to resonate most with the energetic frequency band of the lakebed motions.
What were the effects of the Mexico City earthquake?
The earthquake caused damage in the Mexican states of Puebla and Morelos and in the Greater Mexico City area, including the collapse of more than 40 buildings. 370 people were killed by the earthquake and related building collapses, including 228 in Mexico City, and more than 6,000 were injured.
How is Mexico sinking?
Mexico City Is Sinking at an Alarming And Largely Unstoppable Rate, New Data Finds. After centuries of water drainage from underground aquifers, the lake bed on which this city sits has grown increasingly dry, causing the clay sheets to compress and crack at a largely unstoppable rate.
How many Mexicans died in 1985?
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area and the deaths of at least 5,000 people.
Why does Mexico City have so many earthquakes?
The Cocos Plate is subducting under the North American Plate at a rate of 67 mm (0.220 ft) per year, while the Pacific and Rivera plates are moving northwest relative to the North American Plate. Southern Mexico also contains numerous faults, which causes that section of the country to have high tectonic activity.
How quickly is Mexico City sinking?
The ground in Mexico City is sinking at a rate of almost 50 centimeters (20 inches) per year, and it’s not stopping anytime soon, nor will it rebound, say Chaussard et al.
Is Mexico City still sinking?
As the water continues to be extracted, the city’s clay foundation also continues to settle or sink. Researchers estimate that it will take 150 years for this foundation to become completely compact, and for the city to stop sinking by as much as 20” a year.
What were the effects of the earthquake of 1985?
More than 10,000 people died as a result of the quake, some 30,000 others were injured and an estimated 250,000 people were left homeless. More than 400 buildings collapsed and thousands more were damaged. (The disaster exposed the fact that government corruption had allowed for lax enforcement of building codes.)