Guatemala Earthquake (June 13)

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Posting Date: June 14, 2007, 8:30:00 AM

A strong earthquake rocked Guatemala’s coast and parts of El Salvador on Wednesday, June 13, at 1:29 p.m. local time (3:29 p.m. EDT). The United States Geological Survey reported a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 for the event, which lasted about 30 seconds. The epicenter was 115 kilometers southwest of Guatemala City, the nation’s capital. The earthquake caused panic among Guatemala City residents, briefly disrupting power supplies and phone services. It also caused minor damage to homes in rural areas and more notable damage to houses along the Pacific coast. Landslides were reported in the southwestern province of Escuintla. In El Salvador, power cuts and suspension of mobile phone services were also reported. Since 1900, eleven earthquakes of similar depth (< 40 km) and magnitude (≥ 6) have occurred within 100 km of this earthquake’s epicenter, within the subduction zone. The seismo-tectonic setting of this Guatemalan region is dominated by the subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate in the south, and the interaction between the Caribbean and North America Plates to the west. The convergence rate of the Cocos Plate increases from north to south, starting at approximately 65 mm/yr in southern Mexico and increasing to 70 mm/yr in Guatemala. Using the available information about this event, the AIR earthquake team has run the recently released AIR earthquake model for Central America. Because yesterday’s event occurred offshore and affected primarily rural areas of Guatemala and El Salvador, AIR does not expect any significant insured losses.

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Posting Date: June 14, 2007, 8:30:00 AM