Data di Pubblicazione:
2017
Abstract:
The earthquake sequence occurred in El Salvador between January and February 2001 has
been considered one of the most destructive event occurred in El Salvador in the last fifty
years. It began with the devastating earthquake of January 13 (Mw7.7), located 40 km from
the coast, in the subduction zone of Cocos-Caribbean plates, with a focal depth of 60 km.
Exactly after a month, on February 13, another destructive earthquake (Mw 6.6) was located
30 km inland.
From San Salvador, inside the Caribbean plate at a shallower focal depth of about 10 km.
The 13 February earthquake was associated to the local fault system aligned with the Central
America Volcanic Arc.
The January and February 2001, El Salvador, earthquakes were related the former to
subduction along a submarine seismic structure, and the latter to an onshore seismic structure.
Both quakes caused severe damage especially due to wide and abrupt landslides phenomena.
Thousands of landslides of different type and size were triggered, particularly in the coastal
mountain ranges and along the volcanoes in the Great Interior Valley. Liquefaction phenomena
and lateral spreading were widely observed along coastal area; fractures were observed alone
and/or in conjunction with other geological effects. The landslides were the most extensive
and destructive among the secondary effects and caused most of the human deaths, especially
after. the 13 January earthquake (Las Colinas landslides killed about 600 persons). The slides
severely damaged the main lifelines (roads, aqueducts, power lines, etc.), engineered
structures, as well as coffee plantations. The most affected area by the earthquake effects was
prevalently located in a sparsely inhabited volcanic environment. Thus, the possibility of
applying the common macroseismic intensity scales, based on damages to buildings, as well
as the effects on humans and objects, was limited to a few settlements and villages.
The ongoing study presented here describes the geological-geomorphological
environments affected by both earthquakes and defines the earthquake intensity by taking into
consideration the occurrence, size and areal distribution of earthquake environmental
effects. Indeed, this study can significantly improve the evaluation of seismic intensity, which
still remains a critical parameter for a realistic seismic hazard assessment, allowing to compare
historical and modern earthquakes.
been considered one of the most destructive event occurred in El Salvador in the last fifty
years. It began with the devastating earthquake of January 13 (Mw7.7), located 40 km from
the coast, in the subduction zone of Cocos-Caribbean plates, with a focal depth of 60 km.
Exactly after a month, on February 13, another destructive earthquake (Mw 6.6) was located
30 km inland.
From San Salvador, inside the Caribbean plate at a shallower focal depth of about 10 km.
The 13 February earthquake was associated to the local fault system aligned with the Central
America Volcanic Arc.
The January and February 2001, El Salvador, earthquakes were related the former to
subduction along a submarine seismic structure, and the latter to an onshore seismic structure.
Both quakes caused severe damage especially due to wide and abrupt landslides phenomena.
Thousands of landslides of different type and size were triggered, particularly in the coastal
mountain ranges and along the volcanoes in the Great Interior Valley. Liquefaction phenomena
and lateral spreading were widely observed along coastal area; fractures were observed alone
and/or in conjunction with other geological effects. The landslides were the most extensive
and destructive among the secondary effects and caused most of the human deaths, especially
after. the 13 January earthquake (Las Colinas landslides killed about 600 persons). The slides
severely damaged the main lifelines (roads, aqueducts, power lines, etc.), engineered
structures, as well as coffee plantations. The most affected area by the earthquake effects was
prevalently located in a sparsely inhabited volcanic environment. Thus, the possibility of
applying the common macroseismic intensity scales, based on damages to buildings, as well
as the effects on humans and objects, was limited to a few settlements and villages.
The ongoing study presented here describes the geological-geomorphological
environments affected by both earthquakes and defines the earthquake intensity by taking into
consideration the occurrence, size and areal distribution of earthquake environmental
effects. Indeed, this study can significantly improve the evaluation of seismic intensity, which
still remains a critical parameter for a realistic seismic hazard assessment, allowing to compare
historical and modern earthquakes.
Tipologia CRIS:
04.03 Poster in Atti di convegno
Keywords:
Central America; SEISMIC HAZARD; 2001 Earthquake El Salvador
Elenco autori:
Esposito, Eliana; Violante, Crescenzo
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