1894 Mérida earthquake

Earthquake in Venezuela 1894 Mérida earthquake Venezuela yes 1894 04 28 10:30 PM VET 7.6 w yes 18.24 km mi 0 on 8.55 -71.72 region:VE_type:event inline,title Boconó Fault Strike-slip 10 No Yes 350 dead thumb|Map of the Boconó Fault, showing the main segments and related structures. On April 28, 1894 the southwestern Mérida Andes was struck by a major earthquake at 10:30 p.m. local time. It caused widespread destruction both in Colombia and Venezuela leading to at least 350 deaths. It had an estimated moment magnitude (w) of 7.6 and the intensity of shaking reached X (extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Tectonic setting The Mérida Andes mark the boundary between the North Andes Block and the South American plate. The mountain range is the result of continuing transpression along this boundary. The main structure is the Boconó Fault, a right lateral strike-slip fault zone, which has been subdivided into five segments. The component of shortening across the boundary is taken up by thrust faults, parallel to the Boconó Fault, both to the northwest and southeast of that structure, creating most of the topography.Audemard M. Franck A. Singer P. André Soulas Jean-Pierre 2006 Quaternary faults and stress regime of Venezuela http://www.scielo.org.ar/pdf/raga/v61n4/v61n4a04.pdf Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina Asociación Geológica Argentina 61 4 480–491 2017-06-22 All of the segments of the Boconó Fault are thought to be seismically active.Pousse-Beltran L. Vassalla R. Audemard F. Jouanne F. Oropeza J. Garambois S. Aray J. 2018 Earthquake geology of the last millennium along the Boconó Fault, Venezuela Tectonophysics 747–748 40–53 10.1016/j.tecto.2018.09.010 Earthquake The earthquake's magnitude, epicentral location and hypocentral depth have all been estimated from the distribution of seismic intensities taken from contemporary reports of earthquake damage. The magnitude of w 7.6 was estimated using a hypocentral depth of 18.24±1.66 km, calculated from isoseismal data, and the radius of the area where the earthquake was felt.Salcedo-Hurtado E. de J. Audemard F.A. García-Millán N. Parámetros focales del terremoto del 28 de abril de 1894 en los Andes venezolanos usando datos macrosísmicos Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales 45 175 591–606 es 10.18257/raccefyn.1195 The earthquake ruptured the southwestern-most segment of the Boconó Fault (A), based on the distribution of damage and evidence from paleoseismological investigations along the fault trace. Damage The area of significant damage is estimated to be about 7,000 km2, extending from near Pamplona in Columbia to Trujillo in Venezuela. The most severe damage occurred between the towns of Bailadores and Tabay. The towns of Chiguará, Mérida, Mesa Bolívar, Santa Cruz de Mora and Tovar were completely destroyed. There were approximately 350 fatalities.Estevez R. Laffaille J. 2008 Sismicidad y Prevencion Sismica en Los Andes Venezolanos es http://www.funvisis.gob.ve/archivos/www/terremoto/Papers/Doc029/doc029.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20160716152827/http://www.funvisis.gob.ve/archivos/www/terremoto/Papers/Doc029/doc029.htm July 16, 2016 References Category:Earthquakes in Venezuela Category:1894 earthquakes Category:Earthquakes in Colombia