1980 Honduras earthquake
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The 1980 Honduras earthquake struck just offshore Honduras on August 9 at 05:45 UTC. Two people were killed and many injured.


Geology

The earthquake's
epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...
lay in the
Gulf of Honduras The Gulf or Bay of Honduras is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. From north to south, it runs for approximately 200 km (125 miles) from Dangriga, Belize, to La Ceiba, Honduras. ...
, just offshore. Honduras lies just off the triple-junction of the
North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...
, Cocos, and Caribbean
tectonic plates Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...
to the north. On the other sides it is surrounded by
transform faults A transform fault or transform boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subductio ...
and trenches created by the movement of these plates. The most seismic activity occurs along the plate boundary between Caribbean and Cocos in a N–E trending
Benioff zone Benioff is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *David Benioff (born 1970), American writer, screenwriter and television producer *Hugo Benioff (1899–1968), American seismologist and academic **Wadati–Benioff zone * Marc Benioff ...
, split into two sections, one with a shallow dip, the other with a far more steep decline. The plates are converging by subduction, Cocos under the Caribbean, at a rate of to annually. Within Honduras, there are at least three other major faults–La Ceiba, Guyape, and Aguan–apparently unrelated to plate movement.Kiremidjian, Sutch, and Shah, p. 17.


Damage and casualties

The earthquake hit at 05:45 UTC, around 11:47 PM
local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...
. It caused the most damage at
Puerto Barrios Puerto Barrios () is a city in Guatemala, located within the Gulf of Honduras. The city is located on Bahia de Amatique. Puerto Barrios is the departmental seat of Izabal department and is the administrative seat of Puerto Barrios municipality. ...
Ambraseys and Adams, p. 198. in
Izabal Department Izabal () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. Its coastal areas form part of the homeland of the Garifuna people. Izabal is bordered to the north by Belize, to the north east by the Gulf of Honduras, and to the east by Honduras, and by th ...
, Guatemala, and
Puerto Cortes Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, P ...
, Honduras, and it killed two people and measured between 6.4 and 6.7 surface wave magnitude. The quake was felt throughout Honduras, Belize, and parts of Guatemala. Damage was recorded at the port town of Livingston and extended to northwestern
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
; this damage is poorly recorded. The earthquake severed communications with rural hill and coastal villages in Honduras, and it frightened thousands of people into leaving their homes. Early reports listed only one fatality; a man from San Pedro Sula suffered a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
from the tremor's initial rupture. In Puerto Cortes, 75 homes, a hotel, a
Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company unt ...
refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...
, and a then- United Brands
rail line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
all at least partially collapsed, the homes all fully. As a result, three people were injured by downed walls and ceilings. In Puerto Barrios, two homes collapsed.
Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...
, to the north, experienced the shaking but reported no damage. The earthquake did not extend to
Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...
, Honduras' capital, or Guatemala's capital,
Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
.


See also

*
List of earthquakes in 1980 This is a list of earthquakes in 1980. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage and/or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. Events in remote areas will not be listed but included in statist ...


References

Sources * *


External links

* {{Earthquakes in 1980 1980 earthquakes 1980 in science 1980 in Honduras Earthquakes in Honduras