An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 occurred on January 15, 2010 at 18:00:46 ( UTC ) in the Venezuelan state of Sucre , 8.4 km south-west of the closest settlement and 33.6 km south-west west of Carupano . The hypocenter of the earthquake was located at a depth of 8.1 kilometers [1] . According to the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, the movement of tectonic plates was felt for 30-35 seconds [3] .
| Earthquake in Sucre (2010) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| date and time | 01/15/2010 6:00:46 PM ( UTC ) |
| Magnitude | 5,6 Mw [1] |
| Depth hypocenter | 8.1 km [1] |
| Location epicenter | |
| Affected countries (regions) |  Venezuela |
| Tsunami | not |
| Injured | 11 people were injured [2] |
| Economic damage | less than 1.05 million US dollars [2] |
| Aftershock | yes, minor |
The earthquake was felt in Barcelona and Cumana , as well as in Ciudad Guayana , Porlamar and Puerto la Cruz [4] . (FUNVISIS) has similar data [5] .
Content
Region tectonic conditions
The vast variety and complexity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean Plate , which includes at least four main plates ( North American Plate , South American Plate , Nazca and Cocos ). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes ( Wadati-Beniof zones ), oceanic depressions and volcanoes arc clearly indicate the subduction of the oceanic lithosphere along the borders of Central America and the Atlantic Ocean within the Caribbean Plate. At the same time, the seismicity of the earth's crust in Guatemala , northern Venezuela , as well as in the region of and the Cayman indicate transform faults and [6] .
The border between the southern part of the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate extends in the east-west direction through Trinidad and western Venezuela with a relative speed of about 20 mm per year. This boundary is characterized by major transform faults, including the Central – Range fault and the Sebastian – faults, as well as small seismicity. Since 1900, the largest earthquakes in this region have been the earthquake in Caracas on October 29, 1900, a magnitude of 7.7, and an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 on July 29, 1967 in the same region. Further to the west, a wide zone of compressive deformation deviates to the southwest through western Venezuela and central Colombia . The plate boundary is not very clearly defined in the northwestern part of South America . The South American Plate dominates in the east, in the convergence zone of the Caribbean Plate under the South American Plate, while in the west the South American Plate sinks under the Nazca Plate. The transition zone between subduction zones at the eastern and western edges of the Caribbean Plate is characterized by diffuse seismicity, including earthquakes with small and medium magnitudes (M <6.0) of small and medium depth [6] .
Implications
The governors of the states of Sucre and Anzoategui urged the local population to calm. A government spokesman for Sucre said that the authorities had managed to contact the 15 affected municipalities, which reported that there were no victims. The country's interior minister, Tarek El Aissami, later confirmed that no data were reported on damaged or visible damage to buildings as of January 16, 2010 [3] .
After the earthquake, the company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) began to evacuate administrative buildings located in the city of Cumana , to prevent possible accidents due to collapse in the face of new seismic shocks. Several aftershocks were felt after a few minutes, but of minor size.
As a result of the earthquake, 11 people were injured, three buildings were damaged in [4] .
See also
- Earthquake in Caracas (1812)
- Earthquake in Caracas (1967)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 “M 5.6 - Sucre, Venezuela” . The appeal date is April 30, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 James Daniell. Damaging Earthquakes Database. 2010 - The Year in Review . Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (14 Jaynuary 2011).
- ↑ 1 2 An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 occurred in Venezuela . Investigations. The appeal date is April 30, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 “M 5.6 - Sucre, Venezuela” . earthquake.usgs.gov. The appeal date is April 30, 2019.
- ↑ Terremoto hizo temblar Venezuela, sin generar heridos ni daños materiales (isp.) . Cubadebate (15 de enero de 2010). The appeal date is April 30, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 "M 5.6 - Sucre, Venezuela" . earthquake.usgs.gov. The appeal date is April 30, 2019.
Literature
- Yury Mikhailovich Pushcharovsky, Mikhail G. Lomize, Anatoly G. Ryabukhin, Academy of Sciences of the USSR Interdepartmental Geophysical Committee. Tectonics and geodynamics of the Caribbean region . - Science, 1979. - 164 p.