1965 San Salvador earthquake
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  San Salvador  | |
| UTC time | 1965-05-03 10:01:38 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 856602 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | May 3, 1965 |
| Local time | 04:01 CST |
| Magnitude | 5.9 Mw[1] |
| Depth | 15.0 km (9.3 mi) |
| Epicenter | 13°40′59″N 89°04′12″W / 13.683°N 89.070°W |
| Areas affected | El Salvador |
| Max. intensity | MMI VIII (Severe) |
| Casualties | 125 dead, 500 injured |
The 1965 San Salvador earthquake occurred at 04:01 in the morning on May 3, 1965. It had a moment magnitude of 5.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The shock caused severe damage to El Salvador's capital city, San Salvador. The town of Ilopango, Soyapango, and Delgado was also hard hit. The earthquake was the most destructive to affect the city prior to the 1986 earthquake.[2]
El Salvador lies above the convergent boundary where oceanic crust of the Cocos plate is being subducted beneath the Caribbean plate at rate of about 72 mm per year along the Middle America Trench. This boundary is associated with earthquakes resulting from movement on the plate interface itself, such as the Mw 7.7 1992 Nicaragua earthquake, and from faulting within both the overriding Caribbean plate and the subducting Cocos plate, such as the 1982 El Salvador earthquake.[3][4]
