What caused the Ecuador coast earthquake?
What caused the Ecuador coast earthquake?
Tectonic setting The earthquake is likely to be a result of thrust-faulting, caused by the subduction of the Coiba, Malpelo and Nazca Plates beneath the North Andes and South American Plates.
Are there a lot of earthquakes in Ecuador?
In Ecuador there are partly large earthquakes with strengths of more than 7.0, which cause damages within a radius of over 100 kilometers. Measured by the size of the country, earthquakes occur above average, but not excessively often. Since 1950 more than 5700 people died by direct consequences of earthquakes.
Did the 2016 Ecuador earthquake cause a tsunami?
8 in some sources) nucleated on the subduction zone interface 90 kilometers to the northeast of the April 2016 event, and ruptured over a length of approximately 400-500 kilometers, resulting in a damaging tsunami that caused in the region of 500-1,500 fatalities.
How big was the earthquake in Ecuador in 2016?
Six homes collapsed and many others lost power in the nation’s capital city of Quito. The earthquake was presaged by a magnitude 4.8 foreshock eleven minutes before the main quake struck, and followed by over fifty-five aftershocks in the first twenty-four hours.
How did the earthquake in Colombia affect Ecuador?
In Colombia, near the city of Cali, one miner died as a result of the earthquake, becoming the only reported death outside of Ecuador. In response to the earthquake, a state of emergency was declared throughout the country and the national guard was mobilized to assist in rescue and relief efforts.
What was the convergence rate of the plates in Ecuador?
The convergence rate between the plates in Ecuador is 61 mm (2.4 in) per year. The depth, location and focal mechanism of the earthquake are all consistent with rupture along the plate interface in the form of a megathrust earthquake.
What are the main fault zones in Ecuador?
Tectonic setting. The main active fault zones of Ecuador are SSW-NNE trending dextral strike-slip faults running parallel to the main subdivisions of the Andes, two major SW-NE dextral strike-slip zones, the Pallatanga and Chingual faults, and north-south trending reverse faults such as the Quito fault.