The 2008 El Calvario earthquake occurred in central
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
on 24 May and measured 5.9 on the
moment magnitude scale. The earthquake occurred at 2:20:43 p.m. (19:20:43 UTC) at the epicenter (
El Calvario,
Meta
Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending".
In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or ende ...
). The depth was 35 km; it was superficial according to an Ingeominas report. The epicenter was located 35 km from
Villavicencio and 50 km from
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
. There were 11 confirmed fatalities and 4,181 injured, mostly in the towns of
Puente Quetame,
Fosca,
Fomeque and
Guayabetal
Guayabetal is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative di ...
in
Cundinamarca, and in
El Calvario,
Meta
Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending".
In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or ende ...
.
A M4 foreshock occurred at 12:08 local time (17:08 UTC) near
San Juanito, in the
Meta Central Department, at a depth of 30 km.
The town of
Quetame,
Cundinamarca was the most affected. Several houses collapsed in this small town of 6,500 inhabitants. The reconstruction of the affected structures cost 10 million
USD (exchange rate
COP 2000). In
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, a partial collapse of the building of "Lotería de Bogotá" was reported, with no major consequences. The emergency network in the Capital District was put on maximum alert. A collapse of fixed phone lines and cell phones occurred, due to the great number of people calling to find out about their relatives. The quake was also felt in cities as far away as
Medellín
Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...
and
Bucaramanga.
In
Guayabetal
Guayabetal is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative di ...
,
Cundinamarca, civil defense workers could only reach the town from Villavicencio using motorcycles, because fallen buildings blocked cars from passing. The workers found two people dead and another 26 people trapped in a bus. Now there is a bypass to that point coming from Villavicencio, because 2 km of Highway 48 was closed due to fallen debris.
See also
*
List of earthquakes in 2008
*
List of earthquakes in Colombia
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 El Calvario Earthquake
El Calvario
Earthquake
2008 El Calvario
May 2008 events in South America
2008 disasters in Colombia