2017 Guatemala earthquake
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 Seismographic map of 2017 Guatemala earthquake | |
   Guatemala City  Champerico  Quetzaltenango San Marcos | |
| UTC time | 2017-06-14 07:29:04 |
|---|---|
| 2017-06-22 12:31:03 | |
| ISC event | 616639690 |
| 611834165 | |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| ComCat | |
| Local date | |
| 14 June 2017 | |
| 22 June 2017 | |
| Local time | |
| 1:29:04 | |
| 6:31:03 | |
| Magnitude | 6.9 Mw |
| 6.8 Mw | |
| Depth | 93.0 km (58 mi) |
| 38.1 km (24 mi) | |
| Epicenter | 14°54′32″N 92°00′32″W / 14.909°N 92.009°W |
| Type | Normal Thrust |
| Areas affected | Guatemala and Mexico |
| Max. intensity | MMI VII (Very strong) |
| Landslides | Yes |
| Casualties | 5 dead, 30 injured 4 injured |
The 2017 Guatemala earthquake struck near the city of Malacatán in the San Marcos Department, near the Guatemala–Mexico border at 1:29 am local time (UTC−06:00) on June 14.[1] The earthquake killed five people, and caused 30 injuries, 11 of which were from Chiapas, Mexico across the border.[2] No tsunami warning was issued.
The earthquake was followed up by a large Mw 6.8 earthquake on June 22 off the coast of the Escuintla Department although both events are not directly related. There were no fatalities but four people were injured and damage reported.[3]
The Middle America Trench is a destructive plate boundary where the oceanic Cocos plate subducts beneath the Caribbean plate off the Guatemalan coast. This subduction zone runs from Mexico to Costa Rica where large earthquakes have been sourced from. At the same time, the Cocos plate bends and flexes before descending beneath the Caribbean plate thus faults break out within the downgoing slab, producing intraslab earthquakes.
Earthquake
The magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck at an intermediate depth of 93 km under the Sierra Madre de Chiapas range, at the front of Volcán Tajumulco. It did not occur on the interface of the megathrust fault. Rather, it was a normal fault earthquake within the Cocos Slab.[4][5]
As for the 6.8 earthquake on June 22, it originated on the megathrust boundary at a much shallow depth, but because the earthquake was offshore, shaking was less intense.[6][7]