Strong earthquake 50 km from Chinandega, Nicaragua

Last update: July 18, 2011 at 4:39 pm by By

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Basilica Inmaculada Concepcion de Maria in Chinandega - Panoramio picture courtesy Anthony03 - http://www.panoramio.com/photo/10298005

UPDATE 8:24 UTC : The shaking lasted for 10 to 15 seconds.

UPDATE 8:18 UTC : The earthquake caused some panic in the provinces of Chinandega, Leon and Managua

UPDATE 8:12 UTC : Nicaragua has been hit in the past by numerous killing and damaging massive earthquakes, like :
1931 03 31 – Managua – M 6.0 Fatalities 2,500
1951 08 02 – Cosiguina – M 5.8 Fatalities 1,000
1972 12 23 – Nicaragua – M 6.2 Fatalities 5,000
1992 09 02 – Nicaragua – M 7.6 Fatalities 116
2004 10 09 – Near the Coast of Nicaragua – M 7.0
2005 07 02 – Near the Coast of Nicaragua – M 6.6

UPDATE 8:02 UTC : Nicaraguan people have at least 10 similar earthquakes per year. The subduction zone in front of the coast is very active.

UPDATE 7:29 UTC : Findings (some preliminary as not yet checked by a seismologist)  of other seismological networks than USGS :
GFZ :  5.3 @ 71 km
EMSC : 5.4 @ 100 km
Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (Ineter) : 5.5 @ 50 km
The data from the other networks are showing a far less impact than measured by USGS, but as the USGS data were harmless either, it does not change a lot at the impact of the earthquake.

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UPDATE 7:20 UTC : The reported MMI by people living in Chinandega is V as predicted by the theoretical models. Chinandega is 50 km from the epicenter.

UPDATE 7:17 UTC : Based on theoretical calculations,  the max. MMI will be V for approx. 303,000 people (V = moderate shaking).
2,139,000 people will have experienced a light shaking and approx. 11 million people a weak shaking

UPDATE 7:14 UTC : NO tsunami alert has been issued for this earthquake

A little after midnight local time, a strong earthquake struck the upper subduction zone out of the Nicaragua coast. The earthquake’s hypocenter was however at a depth of 65 km which weakened the impact a lot. Due to this focal depth, a lot of people will have felt it as a weak shaking.

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 5.8
UTC Time : Sunday, July 03, 2011 at 06:34:40 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Sunday, July 03, 2011 at 12:34:40 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 64.7
Geo-location(s) :
50 km (31 miles) WSW of Chinandega, Nicaragua
77 km (47 miles) W of Leon, Nicaragua
148 km (91 miles) WNW of MANAGUA, Nicaragua

Links to important maps
USGS Did You Feel It Map
Google satellite map of the area showing the kind of terrain the earthquake took place
USGS historic earthquakes map
USGS Seismic hazard map
USGS Impact on Population map
USGS Shaking map
GDACS earthquake report

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I did feel it – Ik heb het gevoeld – Το έκανα αισθάνεται – Yo lo siento – 我的确感到了 – 私はそれを感じていました- Ich habe es gefühlt – Bunu hissediyorum yaptı – لم أشعر أنه

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Tell us where in which location you felt the earthquake
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Your Email address might help us if we request for additional details about your experience. This field is NOT mandatory. It is up to you to give it or not.
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People :
Felt by persons at rest, on upper floors or favorably placed.
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People :
Felt indoors; hanging objects may swing, vibration similar to passing of light trucks, duration may be estimated, may not be recognized as an earthquake.
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People :
Generally noticed indoors but not outside. Light sleepers may be awakened. Vibration may be likened to the passing of heavy traffic, or to the jolt of a heavy object falling or striking the building.
Fittings :
Doors and windows rattle. Glassware and crockery rattle. Liquids in open vessels may be slightly disturbed. Standing motorcars may rock.
Structures :
Walls and frames of buildings, and partitions and suspended ceilings in commercial buildings, may be heard to creak.
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People :
Generally felt outside, and by almost everyone indoors. Most sleepers awakened. A few people alarmed.
Fittings :
Small unstable objects are displaced or upset. Some glassware and crockery may be broken. Hanging pictures knock against the wall. Open doors may swing. Cupboard doors secured by magnetic catches may open. Pendulum clocks stop, start, or change rate.
Structures :
Some large display windows cracked. A few earthenware toilet fixtures cracked.
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People Felt by all. People and animals alarmed. Many run outside. Difficulty experienced in walking steadily.
Fittings :
Objects fall from shelves. Pictures fall from walls. Some furniture moved on smooth floors, some unsecured free-standing fireplaces moved. Glassware and crockery broken. Very unstable furniture overturned. Small church and school bells ring. Appliances move on bench or table tops. Filing cabinets or "easy glide" drawers may open (or shut).
Structures :
Slight damage to buildings with low standard. Some stucco or cement plaster falls. Large display windows broken. Damage to a few weak domestic chimneys, some may fall.
Environment :
Trees and bushes shake, or are heard to rustle. Loose material may be dislodged from sloping ground, e.g. existing slides, talus slopes, shingle slides.
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People
General alarm. Difficulty experienced in standing. Noticed by motorcar drivers who may stop.
Fittings :
Large bells ring. Furniture moves on smooth floors, may move on carpeted floors. Substantial damage to fragile contents of buildings.
Structures :
Unreinforced stone and brick walls cracked. Low standard buildings cracked with some minor masonry falls. A few instances of damage to buildings of ordinary workmanship. Unbraced parapets, unbraced brick gables, and architectural ornaments fall. Roofing tiles, especially ridge tiles may be dislodged. Many unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, often falling from roof-line. Water tanks Type I burst. A few instances of damage to brick veneers and plaster or cement-based linings. Unrestrained water cylinders (hot-water cylinders) may move and leak. Some common windows cracked. Suspended ceilings damaged.
Environment :
Water made turbid by stirred up mud. Small slides such as falls of sand and gravel banks, and small rock-falls from steep slopes and cuttings. Instances of settlement of unconsolidated or wet, or weak soils. Some fine cracks appear in sloping ground. A few instances of liquefaction (i.e. small water and sand ejections).
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People Alarm may approach panic. Steering of motorcars greatly affected. Structures : Low standard buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. ordinary workmanship buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged in some cases. A few instances of damage to buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes. Monuments and pre-1976 elevated tanks and factory stacks twisted or brought down. Some pre-1965 infill masonry panels damaged. A few post-1980 brick veneers damaged. Decayed timber piles of houses damaged. Houses not secured to foundations may move. Most unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, some below roof-line, many brought down. Environment : Cracks appear on steep slopes and in wet ground. Small to moderate slides in roadside cuttings and unsupported excavations. Small water and sand ejections and localized lateral spreading adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
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Structures Many low standard buildings destroyed. Ordinary workmanship buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes damaged in some cases, some with flexible frames seriously damaged. Damage or permanent distortion to some buildings and bridges, designed and built to normal use standards. Houses not secured to foundations shifted off. Brick veneers fall and expose frames. Environment : Cracking of ground conspicuous. Landsliding general on steep slopes. Liquefaction effects intensified and more widespread, with large lateral spreading and flow sliding adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
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