The Big One - Earthquakes in Colombia!

I was recently invited to attend a dinner with an expat from India living part-time in Medellin, Colombia. He rents an apartment on the 22nd floor in a building in Poblado. I asked him about a possible large scale earthquake and he responded shrugging his shoulders "you worry to much man!" I have former in-laws in the Cauca Valley and I have enough insider information to form my own opinion. With this being said, here is some information I got off google tonight.

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December 7, 1988 Armenia, Colombia. Earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude killed nearly 25,000, injured 15,000, and left at least 400,000 homeless.

January 25, 1999 Armenia, Colombia. 1,185 dead and more than 4,000 injured in magnitude 6.2 earthquake. Over 200,000 left homeless.

Colombia is located in the northwestern corner of the South American plate, where it meets the Nazca and Caribbean plates. This collision of tectonic plates has produced a subduction zone beneath the Pacific coast and shallow crustal faults within the interior of Colombia. Although the subduction earthquakes are potentially very damaging, they occur in an area of the Pacific coast that is sparsely populated.

The shallow crustal faults however, can produce significant damage because of their proximity to major population centers. For example, a relatively small magnitude shallow crustal event occurred on March 1983 near the city of Popanyan measuring only M5.4, yet causing US$400 million of damage. One particularly hazardous shallow crustal fault zone called the Frontal Fault system runs along the eastern boundary of the Cordillera Oriental mountain range. Segments of this fault have the potential to produce M8.0 events that could result in extensive damage to many cities including Bogota.

The largest historical event associated with the Cordillera Oriental is the 1917 Earthquake measuring M7.3, the greatest in a series of earthquakes that struck the central part of Colombia during a 10-day period. Almost every building in Bogota experienced some damage. Bogota’s population has increased considerably since the 1917 Earthquake, expanding the city onto nearby soft lakebeds. If a similar event were to occur today, damage would be much more extensive.

http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1979Colombia.html

http://earthquake.usgs.gov

[Lostagain]

Sounds a little like California, except without the building codes to reduce the casualties. I can't for the life of me understand why they continue to use unreinforced masonry to the extent they do. Better to use guadua (a variety of bamboo) that can withstand almost any earthquake provided you don't put a heavy tile roof on top of it.

[TBOND]

Very good to know, i had no idea.. nor do i ever remember hearing reports of EarthQuakes in Colombia..

California´s San Andreas Fault line runs down the Pacific a few miles off the Colombia coast. It´s actually a good thing if the ground shakes a little as this indicates the plates are moving but in Colombia things don´t shake much.

If you live or vacation anywhere on the westside of Colombia - Medellin, Quibdo, Cali, Popoyan or Pasto I would be very concerned. Building codes in Colombia? I don´t think so. If your on a high floor when a magnitude 6+ hits - Prey and hold on because your in for the ride of your life.

[John]

Anywhere on Earth, where there are mountains (and ranges), there is a greater chance of more persistent temblors, and earthquakes.

"California´s San Andreas Fault line runs down the Pacific..." - Ray

Yeah, it reminds, again, of Steely Dan's "My Old School" Song:

"...California tumbles into the sea..."

[Lostagain]

California's San Andreas fault is a slip fault that moves n/s, depending on which side is your point of view. Eventually, all of Baja California will be north of the border. That'll create some interesting issues for the xenophobes who want to keep the Mexicans out of Alta California.

[TBOND]

My mom told me about the earthquakes she experienced as a child in Costa Rica. I myself had never experienced one first hand… that is up until my trip to Acapulco in 1998.

I was in a very nice high rise hotel on the beach... and one early evening one hit...
It was the most vulnerable feeling I ever had. It lasted for about 3 minutes but it felt like 2 hours... The hotel swayed (hopefully by design) I hope never to experience one again.

I was living in a five story building in Woodland Hills, California when the Northridge quake hit in 1994. My building almost came down. I'm not trying to scare you guys, just giving a heads up that (in my opinion) a large scale earthquake in Colombia is very possible within my lifetime.

[Tinto]

It didn't take long for the Colombian earthquake today to be recorded. Looks like it was a 5.5-5.6 on the Richter Scale and the epicenter was 30 miles away from Bucaramanga. It shook my apartment building in Medellin for about ten seconds. I haven't heard yet if there was any damage.

I have a feeling that one day in the not to distant future, Colombia will experience a more severe earthquake with loss of life like they had in Armenia back in 1999 claiming several thousand lives and left over 200,000 people homeless. That one was a 6.2 in magnitude.

[Sailover]

During the time we lived in Bucaramanga, there were two quakes, two bombs and one flood. I can still feel each! I have felt 3 tremors here in Cali, large enough to rock the building gently back and forth. All of the neighbors were on their balconies.
For a northern boy it is very disconcerting, but what the hell.