1972 Nicaragua earthquake

Earthquake in Nicaragua December 2010 December 2025 1972 Nicaragua earthquake frameless|240px Damaged office building southeast of downtown Managua Central America 1972-12-23 06:29:44 766571 iscgem766571 1972 12 23 00:29:44 10–15 seconds 6.3 w y 10 km mi on 12.18 -86.22 region:NI_type:event inline,title Nicaragua 9IX 4,000–11,000 dead 20,000 injured 300,000 displaced The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake occurred at 12:29:44 a.m. local time (06:29:44 UTC) on 23 December near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive). The epicenter was 28 km mi on northeast of the city centre with a depth of about 10 km mi on. The earthquake caused widespread casualties among Managua's residents: 4,000–11,000 were killed, 20,000 were injured and over 300,000 were left homeless.24 December 1972 Thousands dead as quakes strike Nicaraguan city The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/24/archives/thousands-dead-as-quakes-strike-nicaraguan-city-capital-battered.html 1 August 2021 0362-4331 Tectonic setting Geology of Nicaragua thumb|A Nicaraguan soldier patrolling against looters in the aftermath of the earthquake Managua, which lies on the southern shore of Lake Xolotlán, near the western coast of Nicaragua, is situated within an active volcanic zone known as the Central American Volcanic Chain. The city has a long history of volcanic and seismic activity which arise from the relative movements of two crustal plates which intersect near the southwestern border of Central America. The Cocos plate, located east of the East Pacific Rise, is moving northeastward and is slowly being submerged (subducted) under the Caribbean plate. The zone of dipping is initiated at the surface of the Middle America Trench, which extends 4 to 5 kilometers deep along the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Costa Rica.Earthquake Information Bulletin, September–October 1973, Volume 5, Number 5., Retrieved on 2 June 2008 But rather than a simple crustal movement between the two plates the earthquake was believed to have been caused by a shallow adjustment to geological pressure at the southwestern corner of the Caribbean plate.June 2025 Damage thumb|A hotel destroyed by the quake in Managua's centre The earthquake severely damaged 27 sqkm and destroyed 13 sqkm in the city centre. The majority of the buildings in the city's central business district sustained significant structural damage including a 19-story building, one 15-story building, approximately 5 buildings that were 7 to 9 stories tall and more than 25 buildings that were from 3 to 6 stories tall. Much of the damage arose from seismic ground movement which occurred within 10–15 seconds of the main shock. The majority of the factories and smaller buildings were severely damaged. Many of the houses and small shops were over 40 years old and constructed using a local method called taquezal (or talquezal), in which the timber framed walls are filled with stone and finished with plaster, covered by roofs of unmortared clay tile. The design is very susceptible to earthquake damage. An estimated 53,000 homes in the city were damaged. The water and electrical power networks were severely damaged and more than a week after the earthquake only 10% of the city had any working water service.June 2025 Surface faulting June 2025 One of the most significant geological effects of the earthquake quake was surface faulting. Examination of the fault lines indicated a lateral motion moving in a northeasterly direction and aftershock data has revealed at least one of the faults extends from the surface to a depth of 8 to 10 kilometers beneath the city of Managua. Aftershocks Within an hour after the main shock, two aftershocks, one of magnitude 5.0 and the other 5.2, occurred at 1:18 a.m. and 1:20 a.m.Earthquake Hazards Program https://web.archive.org/web/20080602094126/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/events/1972_12_23.php 2 June 2008 USGS, Retrieved on 2 June 2008 Response Two-thirds of Managua's 1,000,000 residents were displaced and faced food shortage and disease, and dry-season winds worsened the problem with fires created by the disaster. Because of the damaging effects of the earthquake, many of the emergency services in the city were operating at a seriously lower level than normal. The earthquake destroyed all the fire-fighting equipment available, and fires were prevalent in some areas for several days. All four main hospitals, which before the disaster had 1,650 beds, were unserviceable.June 2025 The Nicaraguan government appealed for aid, and the government accepted aid from countries like the United States and Mexico and some 25 other countries, worth millions of dollars. Despite this and the magnitude of the devastation, the aid was not distributed well and the ruling Liberal-Conservative Junta, led by President Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was the target of criticism and was accused of stockpiling foreign aid which never reached the victims of the earthquake.http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/low/dates/stories/december/23/newsid_2540000/2540045.stm 1972: Earthquake wreaks devastation in Nicaragua 2 June 2008 BBC 23 December 1972 It was because of these reports that the Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente chose to personally accompany the fourth of a number of relief flights he had organized. That flight crashed on 31 December, killing Clemente among others.June 2025 thumb|Bulldozers shifting the rubble Another difficulty was that much of the material aid donated was inappropriate for the needs of the affected Nicaraguans, including such items as winter clothes (Managua's climate is tropical) and frozen TV dinners.Cornell, James C. (1982), The Great International Disaster Book (3rd ed.), Charles Scribner's Sons. It was later claimed that Somoza and his associates had used foreign aid for their own gain. Opposition to the regime, which had begun to surface before the earthquake, increased quickly among the lower classes and even among members of the upper and middle classes fed up with Somoza's corruption. This grew into a revolt that became the Nicaraguan Revolution, in which Somoza was overthrown in 1979.June 2025 Because of the extent of the damage, the faulty underground terrain, the misappropriation of aid, and the subsequent revolution and 11-year civil war, much of the city centre remained ruined for almost 20 years. Reconstruction only began in earnest in the 1990s.June 2025 Aftermath June 2025 The earthquake changed the face of Managua during its decades of recovery. The city center is no longer clearly defined, as buildings have been constructed away from the city center. During the massive evacuations, the displaced residents set up camp around water resources and areas that remained somewhat unaffected. Although Managua remains Central America's second largest capital and metropolitan area, the bulk of its residents reside in barrios or neighborhoods that are of considerable distance from the city center. Today, in place of the large buildings that used to exist in the center, the government set up the "Plaza de la Fe" (Faith Square) in honor of Pope John Paul II. See also Nicaragua List of earthquakes in 1972 List of earthquakes in Nicaragua 1972 Puerto Rico DC-7 crash References The Seismicity of Central America – A Descriptive Catalogue 1898–1995 N. N. Ambraseys Nicholas Ambraseys R. D. Adams 2000 Imperial College Press 271 978-1860942440 10.1142/9781848160118_0001 ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2013) https://www.isc.ac.uk/iscgem/index.php ISC 2017 International Seismological Centre Version 4.0 PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/ 4 September 2009 United States Geological Survey Version 2008_06.1 10.1785/BSSA0640040993 The Managua, Nicaragua, earthquake of December 23, 1972: Location, focal mechanism, and intensity distribution 993–1004 1974 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 64 4 S. T. Algermissen J. W. Dewey C. J. Langer W. H. Dillinger 1974BuSSA..64..993A 130171159 Further reading 10.3133/pp838 Geologic and seismologic aspects of the Managua, Nicaragua, earthquakes of December 23, 1972 Professional Paper 1973 Brown Robert David Ward Peter L. Plafker George USGS Report 16 George Plafker free 1973usgs.rept...16B Swanson Donald A. Jackson D. B. Koyanagi R. Y. Wright T. L. 10.3133/pp1002 The Guatemalan earthquake of February 4, 1976, a preliminary report USGS Report Professional Paper 1976 20 Espinosa A.F free 1976usgs.rept...20S External links 1972 Nicaragua earthquake 766571 Historic Earthquakes https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1972_12_23.php Category:1972 earthquakes Category:1972 in Nicaragua Category:Earthquakes in Nicaragua Category:Managua Category:December 1972 in North America Category:Strike-slip earthquakes