1980 Honduras earthquake

1980 Honduras earthquake Central America 1980-08-09 05:45:10 639880 iscgem639880 1980 08 08 23:45:10 6.4–6.7 22 km mi 0 on 15.888 -88.516 region:HN_type:event inline,titlehttp://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=4890&t=101650&s=13&d=22,26,13,12&nd=display https://archive.today/20130818180438/http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=4890&t=101650&s=13&d=22,26,13,12&nd=display dead August 18, 2013 Significant earthquake National Geophysical Data Center 18 August 2013 VIIhttps://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usp00019aw/impact M 6.4 – 19 km NNE of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala – Impact United States Geological Survey 2021-11-11 2 deaths The 1980 Honduras earthquake struck just offshore Honduras on August 9 at 05:45 UTC. Two people were killed and many injured. Geology The earthquake's epicenter lay in the Gulf of Honduras, just offshore. Honduras lies just off the triple-junction of the North American, Cocos, and Caribbean tectonic plates to the north. On the other sides it is surrounded by transform faults and trenches created by the movement of these plates.Kiremidjian, Sutch, and Shah, p. 4. The most seismic activity occurs along the plate boundary between Caribbean and Cocos in a N–E trending Wadati–Benioff zone, split into two sections, one with a shallow dip, the other with a far more steep decline.Kiremidjian, Sutch, and Shah, p. 6. The plates are converging by subduction, Cocos under the Caribbean, at a rate of 6.5 cm on to 10 cm on annually.Kiremidjian, Sutch, and Shah, p. 7. Within Honduras, there are at least three other major faults–La Ceiba, Guyape, and Aguan–apparently unrelated to plate movement.Kiremidjian, Sutch, and Shah, p. 17. Damage and casualties The earthquake hit at 05:45 UTC,https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/significant/sig_1980.php Significant Earthquakes of the World: 1980 United States Geological Survey January 5, 2010 August 9, 2013 around 11:47 PM local time.Sharp quake shakes cities in Caribbean August 10, 1980 The Register-Guard Baker III, Alton F. 8A It caused the most damage at Puerto BarriosAmbraseys and Adams, p. 198. in Izabal Department, Guatemala, and Puerto Cortes, Honduras, and it killed two people and measured between 6.4 and 6.7 surface-wave magnitude. The quake was felt throughout Honduras, Belize, and parts of Guatemala. Damage was recorded at the port town of Livingston and extended to northwestern Puerto Rico; this damage is poorly recorded. The earthquake severed communications with rural hill and coastal villages in Honduras, and it frightened thousands of people into leaving their homes. Early reports listed only one fatality; a man from San Pedro Sula suffered a heart attack from the tremor's initial rupture. In Puerto Cortes, 75 homes, a hotel, a Texaco refinery, and a then-United Brands rail line all at least partially collapsed, the homes all fully. As a result, three people were injured by downed walls and ceilings. In Puerto Barrios, two homes collapsed. Belize City, 100 mi on to the north, experienced the shaking but reported no damage. The earthquake did not extend to Tegucigalpa, Honduras' capital, or Guatemala's capital, Guatemala City. See also List of earthquakes in 1980 References Sources Seismicity of Central America: A Descriptive Catalogue, 1898–1995 N. Ambraseys Nicholas Ambraseys R. D. Adams World Scientific 2001 9781860942440 Seismic Hazard Analysis of Honduras Kiremidjian, A. S. Sutch, P. Shah, H. C. December 1979 38 Stanford University External links 639880 Category:1980 earthquakes Category:1980 in science Category:1980 in Honduras Category:Earthquakes in Honduras