2003 Colima earthquake

High-magnitude earthquake in southwestern Mexico

2003 Colima earthquake

Mexico City

UTC time| 2003-01-22 02:06:34
ISC event| 6541364
USGS-ANSS| ComCat
Local date| January 21, 2003 (2003-01-21)
Local time| 20:06
Magnitude| 7.6 Mw(USGS)
7.5 Mw(ISC) [1]
Depth| 23.9 km (15 mi)[1]
Epicenter| 18°41′N 104°09′W﻿ / ﻿18.69°N 104.15°W﻿ / 18.69; -104.15[1]
Type| Thrust[2]
Areas affected| Mexico
Total damage| Severe[3]
Max. intensity| MMI VIII (Severe)[2]
Peak acceleration| 0.45 g[2]
Tsunami| 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)[2]
Casualties| 29 dead[2]
300 injured[2]

The 2003 Colima earthquake occurred on 21 January with a moment magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The epicenter was located on the Pacific coast in the Mexican state of Colima. The earthquake was felt as far away as Mexico City and in southern parts of the United States.

## Effects

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The 2003 Colima earthquake resulted in 29 deaths and 300 injuries. Additionally, approximately 10,000 were left homeless as the earthquake destroyed 2,005 homes and seriously damaged 6,615. Most of the deaths and damage occurred in Villa de Álvarez, a city which borders the northern part of the city of Colima. Extensive damage (rating VIII) occurred in the city of Colima and in Tecomán. Some deaths and damage occurred in the states of Jalisco and Michoacán and a few buildings were damaged as far away as Guanajuato and Morelos. The quake was felt strongly (rating VI) in parts of Mexico City. It was also felt in most of Mexico and in the United States in Corpus Christi, Texas, Dallas, Texas and El Paso, Texas. Occupants of high-rise buildings in Houston, Texas also reported feeling its effects. Landslides closed a segment of the Colima-Guadalajara Highway and the port of Manzanillo. Power and telephone outages occurred in Mexico City. A local tsunami of about 1 m (peak-to-trough) was recorded at Manzanillo. A seiche was observed on Lake Pontchartrain in the US state of Louisiana, and sediment was stirred up in several Louisiana wells.[2]

## Tectonic summary

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This shallow earthquake occurred in a seismically active zone near the coast of central Mexico. The earthquake occurred near the juncture of three tectonic plates: the North American plate to the northeast, the Rivera plate to the northwest, and the Cocos plate to the south. Both the Rivera plate and the Cocos plate are being subsumed beneath the North American plate. The slower subducting Rivera plate is moving northwest at about 2 cm per year relative to the North American plate and the faster Cocos plate is moving in a similar direction at a rate of about 4.5 cm per year.

Several significant earthquakes have occurred near the recent event. In 1932, a magnitude 8.4 thrust earthquake struck about 100 km to the north-northwest. On 9 October 1995, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck about 50 km to the northwest killing at least 49 people and leaving 1,000 homeless. The most deadly earthquake in the region occurred about 170 km to the south-east on 19 September 1985. This magnitude 8.0 earthquake killed at least 9,500 people, injured about 30,000, and left 100,000 people homeless.[4]

## See also

[edit]

* List of earthquakes in 2003
* List of earthquakes in Mexico

## References

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1. ^ a b c ISC (2014), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 1.05, International Seismological Centre
2. ^ a b c d e f g "M7.6 – offshore Colima, Mexico". United States Geological Survey.
3. ^ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) (1972), Significant Earthquake Database (Data Set), National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K, archived from the original on September 29, 2006
4. ^ "USGS NEIC: Earthquake Bulletin: COLIMA, MEXICO". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-18.

Sources

* Singh, S. K.; Pacheco, J. F.; Alcántara, L.; Reyes, G.; Ordaz, M.; Iglesias, A.; Alcocer, S. M.; Gutierrez, G.; Valdés, C.; Kostoglodov, V.; Reyes, C.; Mikumo, T.; Quaas, R.; Anderson, J. G. (2003), "A Preliminary Report on the Tecomán, Mexico Earthquake of 22 January 2003 (Mw 7.4) and Its Effects", Seismological Research Letters, 74 (3): 279–289, Bibcode:2003SeiRL..74..279S, doi:10.1785/gssrl.74.3.279

## Further reading

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* Gómez-González, Juan Martín; Mendoza, Carlos; Sladen, Anthony; Guzmán-Speziale, Marco (2010), "Kinematic source analysis of the 2003 Tecomán, México, earthquake (Mw 7.6) using teleseismic body waves", Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 62 (2): 249–262, doi:10.18268/BSGM2010v62n2a5, JSTOR 24921179

## External links

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* The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.

* v
* t
* e

← Earthquakes in 2003 →

January|

* Colima (7.5, Jan 21)

February|

* Bachu (6.3, Feb 24) †

April|

* Alabama (4.6, Apr 29)

May|

* Bingöl (6.4, May 1) †
* Boumerdès (6.8, May 21) †
* Miyagi (7.1, May 26)

July|

* Dayao (5.9, July 21)
* Miyagi (6.4, July 26)

August|

* Fiordland (7.2, Aug 22)

September|

* Dominican Republic (6.4, Sep 22)
* Hokkaidō (8.3, Sep 25)
* Altai Republic (7.3, Sep 27)

December|

* Kazakhstan-China (6.1, Dec 1)
* Taiwan (6.8, Dec 10)
* San Simeon (6.6, Dec 22)
* Puerto Armuelles (6.5, Dec 25)
* Bam (6.6, Dec 26) † ‡

† earthquakes resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡ the deadliest earthquake of the year

* v
* t
* e

Earthquakes in Mexico

Historical|

* 1475 Tenochtitlan
* 1787 New Spain
* 1887 Sonora
* 1892 Laguna Salada

20th century|

* 1911 Michoacán
* 1911 Guerrero
* 1912 Acambay
* 1915 Mexicali
* 1920 Xalapa
* 1931 Oaxaca
* 1932 Jalisco
* 1937 Orizaba
* 1940 El Centro
* 1941 Colima
* 1957 Guerrero
* 1959 Coatzacoalcos
* 1964 Guerrero
* 1965 Oaxaca
* 1973 Colima
* 1973 Veracruz
* 1978 Oaxaca
* 1979 Petatlán
* 1979 Imperial Valley
* 1980 Oaxaca
* 1981 Playa Azul
* 1985 Mexico City
* 1987 Superstition Hills
* 1995 Chiapas
* 1995 Colima–Jalisco
* 1995 Guerrero
* 1999 Oaxaca
* 1999 Tehuacán

21st century|

* 2003 Colima
* 2010 Oaxaca
* 2010 Baja California
* 2011 Guerrero
* 2011 Zumpango
* 2012 Guerrero–Oaxaca
* 2014 Guerrero
* 2014 Mexico–Guatemala
* 2017 Chiapas
* 2017 Puebla
* 2018 Oaxaca
* 2020 Oaxaca
* 2021 Guerrero
* 2022 Michoacán

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.
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