1978 Oaxaca earthquake

Earthquake in Mexico 7.8 w yes 1978 Oaxaca earthquake 16.010 N 96.591 W region:PE_type:event inline,title Mexico 674661 8 11:52 PST File:M 7.7 - Oaxaca, Mexico (1978).jpg 18.0 km Megathrust Middle America Trench Oaxaca, Mexico City usp0000xp7 29 November 1978 9 dead 1978-11-29 19:52:47 1.5–2 minutes On November 29, 1978, a moment magnitude 7.7–7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of the southern Mexican state Oaxaca.ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1904–2018) http://www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php ISC 2022 International Seismological Centre Version 9.1 10.31905/D808B825 free The thrust-faulting event caused severe damage in Oaxaca and Mexico City. Tectonic setting Along the west coast of Mexico, the Rivera, Cocos and Nazca plate dives beneath the North American and Caribbean plate in a process known as subduction. This occurs along the Middle America Trench which runs from Mexico down to Costa Rica for over 2,750 km. The subduction zone is a large thrust fault that has produced devastating earthquakes in human history. Subduction has also resulted in volcanic activity in central Mexico. Earthquake The earthquake ruptured an area of 5,525 km3 along with the boundary interface of the Cocos and North American plates.Gordon S. Stewart Eric P. Chael Karen C. McNally 10 June 1981 The November 29, 1978, Oaxaca, Mexico, earthquake: A large simple event Journal of Geophysical Research 86 AGU That particular segment has not produced any large earthquakes since 1928 and 1931 and thus considered a seismic gap. A major earthquake of magnitude 7.5 ± 2.5 was forecasted at that area in 1973.Singh S. K. Havskov J. McNally K. Ponce L. Hearn T. Vassiliou M. The Oaxaca, Mexico, Earthquake of 29 November 1978: A Preliminary Report on Aftershocks https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.207.4436.1211 Science 1980 207 4436 1211–1213 10.1126/science.207.4436.1211 17776859 1980Sci...207.1211S 21529500 subscription The earthquake ruptured about 80 percent of the segment designated a seismic gap and produced slip of 1.48 m.Singh S. K. Havskov J. McNally K. Ponce L. Hearn T. Vassiliou M. The Oaxaca, Mexico, Earthquake of 29 November 1978: A Preliminary Report on Aftershocks Science 1980 207 4436 1211–1213 10.1126/science.207.4436.1211 17776859 1980Sci...207.1211S 21529500 This earthquake is well known as one out of the two earthquakes that forecasted in advance in the West. The other was the 5.9 magnitude 1975 Oroville earthquake in California, both due to irregular seismic activities in the area before the main shock.Tiedemann, H., 1992. Earthquakes and Voulcanic Eruptions. S.R.C., p.167 Impact Nine people were killed, eight of those were from Mexico City and one death occurred in Oaxaca. A few buildings in Mexico City had minor damage; this was contrary to the numerous newspaper reports that many buildings had collapsed. Eyewitness reported many buildings swaying during the earthquake. Two buildings; the Treasury Building and another owned by the Bank of Mexico suffered considerable damage to their exterior.EERI Reconnaissance Team Quick-Look Report on Oaxaca, Mexico Earthquake January 1979 A further 100 people were injured. Falling glass and collapsing walls injured 50 people. Electricity services were cut in some areas causing major traffic jams.Riding Alan Quake Hits Wide Area in Mexico; Injuries, Several Deaths Reported https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/30/archives/quake-hits-wide-area-in-mexico-injuries-several-deaths-reported.html 24 September 2023 The New York Times 30 November 1978 Damage inspections by professionals led many buildings in Mexico City to close.Mexican Earthquake https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1978/12/1/mexican-earthquake-pmexico-city-newspapers-here-reported/ 24 September 2023 The Harvard Crimson 1 December 1978 See also List of earthquakes in 1978 List of earthquakes in Mexico References Category:1978 earthquakes Category:Earthquakes in Mexico Category:Megathrust earthquakes in Mexico Category:History of Oaxaca Category:1978 disasters in Mexico Category:1978 in Mexico Category:November 1978 in Mexico