Very Strong earthquake 50 km out of the Nicaragua coast - One man died by heart attack, minor damage reported

Created June 15, 2013 Last update June 16, 2013 06:19 By

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Update June 16th, 05:11 UTC : One 81-years old man suffered a heart attack due to the earthquake and died. Six people in Nicaragua were injured by collapsed walls and falling debris. Some houses cracked, among them a school and a hospital in Leon and a governmental building in Managua. Alltogether, six buildings were damaged.
No damage or injuries were reported from Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador so far.

Update 22:10 UTC : Some of the aftershocks epicenters arrived close to the coast as can be seen on the image below. These were only the stronger aftershocks.

Screen Shot 2013-06-16 at 00.10.08

Some minor damahe at the San Juan church in Leon

Some minor damahe at the San Juan church in Leon

Update 21:33 UTC : In Honduras the people ran out of their homes after the earthquake happened.
1 person was slightly injured when a wall collapsed in Chinandega.
A wall also collapsed in the city of Chichigalpa.

Update 21:28 UTC : People living in the capital Managua have said the items fell from the cupboards and shelves. As usual, mobile communications as well as internet services were suspended for a few minutes right after the earthquake. We repeat once more our remark that in case of a major earthquake voice calls should be blocked and only text messages should be allowed. With text messages alone, congestion is almost impossible.

Update 21:21 UTC : We have found also some damage in a school and hospital of San Ramon.
In Chinandega, some walls collapsed without injuring anybody. Chinandega is a city at approx. 105 km from the coast.
We will not be surprised if more minor damage will show up the following hours and tomorrow.
Luckily NO collapsed houses or serious injuries reported so far.

Update 18:52 UTC : Some minor damage has occurred at the San Juan church in Leon.

Update 18:31 UTC : INETER, the seismological agency of Nicaragua reports a Magnitude of 6.3 at a depth of 10 km, in front of Puerto Andino.

Update 18:20 UTC : Our main fear for this earthquakes are eventual landslides. Let's hope nobody get hurt when they happen.

Update 18:12 UTC : The first aftershocks in the M5 range are starting to happen. A normal process which can take hours, days or even weeks to end. Strong M6 aftershocks are possible too. Even more powerful aftershocks can occur, although these are very rare.

Update 18:08 UTC : The earthquake occurred at a depth of 35 km which explains in part why it was felt also in the neighboring countries. This means that this is a typical subduction earthquake. The earthquake is generated by the accumulated stress from the heavier Oceanic Pacific plate subducting the North American plate. When the stress gets too big, the earthquake is triggered. Subduction earthquakes are normally less dangerous than shallow transform quakes. The subduction fault can well be seen on the map below (red line).

Screen Shot 2013-06-15 at 20.11.54

Update 18:05 UTC : Below the expected number of people who have experienced specific MMI shaking. The image shows that 80,000 people will have probably experienced a MMI VI (strong) shaking.

Screen Shot 2013-06-15 at 20.04.31

Update 18:03 UTC : The shaking values we are receiving from our readers are merely moderate to strong shaking.

Update 17:58 UTC : The shakemap below shows a coastal area where strong shaking is expected based on theoretical data. Managua should have sustained a moderate MMI V shaking

Screen Shot 2013-06-15 at 20.00.30

Update 17:54 UTC : Local INETER seems to be too demanded as we cannot reach the seismic information.

Update 17:52 UTC : USGS has decreased the Magnitude from Mw6.6 to Mw6.5, a good sign

Update 17:49 UTC :We have NO tsunami warning in place for the US West coast

The earthquake is also felt in the neighboring countries.

The earthquake occurred at 79 km out of the NIcaraguan coast
USGS reports a Mw6.6 Magnitude at a depth of 10 km.

Screen Shot 2013-06-15 at 19.50.38

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.6

Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-06-15 17:39:37

Depth (Hypocenter) : 10 km

Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below.

Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers.
Click on the "I Felt It" button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership.

Refresh this list
SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFO
EMSC Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 18:50 4.5 60 MAP
GEOFON Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 18:50 4.5 45 MAP I Felt It INFO
USGS Near The Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 18:50 4.5 46 MAP I Felt It INFO
GEOFON Nicaragua Jun 15 18:10 5.1 57 MAP
EMSC Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 18:10 5.1 60 MAP
USGS Near The Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 18:10 5.1 40 MAP
EMSC Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:59 4.9 37 MAP
GEOFON Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:59 5.0 55 MAP
USGS Near The Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:59 4.9 38 MAP
PTWC Near The Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:39 6.6 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
  • San Salvador - Felt in San Antonio Abad near Volcan in San Salvador at 11:36am
  • pochomil - lasted a long time
  • San Salvador, El Salvador - Heard walls creaking, all the pictures swaying, lasted about 30 seconds.
  • San jose Villa nueva - earthquake
  • Carretera Sur, Managua, Nicaragua - se movió todo en mi cuarto, parecía que se estaban moviendo la silla, se sacudía muy fuerte! afuera los arboles se movian con sacudidas fuertes, las lámparas de techo se balanceaban y la casa hacía ruido al moverse.
  • Managua - Muy largo y fuerte
  • Masaya - I'm in Masaya and felt and saw my desk, chair and floor moving for what seemed like a minute.
  • El Banquito, Corpus, Honduras - Moderate shaking for about 15 seconds followed by about 10 seconds of stronger shaking.
  • Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica - Felt somewhat prolonged shaking while sitting at my desk. Did not see anything on the shelves moving.
  • Las Mercedes, Managua - The house shook and lighter furniture moved around on the floor.
  • Esteli - An American living here. Made my son dizzy. Lasted only 1 or 2 seconds but many friends and relatives are posting on facebook about it.
  • Granada - sorpresa
  • Managua - Muy fuerte, todo se movía: árboles, muros, lámparas colgantes. Había mucho ruido.
  • San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua - I am in Nicaragua in http://facebook.com/SanJuanDelSurNI - literally JUST getting ready to head back to Costa Rica when I felt it! I was sitting on the toilet & to ME it felt more like I was on a boat - just a little swaying. Strange that some of my friends in the Central Valley of Costa Rica said they felt it & I BARELY felt it & I'm maybe 50 or so miles away!!
  • Managua - On the fifth floor of the Crown Plaza Hotel. Shaking woke me up. Went on for about 15 seconds straight. People ran from the hotel. Hotel evacuated. After shock felt an hour later.
  • Managua - just felt what must be an aftershck,it wasnt shaking so much as what felt like one big lurch of the earth from side to side,
  • Jinotepe - Strong shaking that made the chandeliers sway for a couple minutes after the tremor stopped.
  • san jorge.ni - Sofa rocked from underneath me back and forth large gentle rocks for good 12 seconds
  • San Jose, Costa Rica - Very weak shaking, short duratin (5 seconds or so). Fairly gentle side to side shaking.
  • Leon - My family was in our home and the room started shaking. The structure was swaying and cement floor vibrating. There was a loud rumbling sound. After many seconds when it did not subside and seem to continue strong, we ran outside. The swaying of the house stopped but the vibration under our feet was still felt. It was a long time 20 - 30 seconds. I thought it would not stop.
  • Managua - Felt it and lasted a few seconds
  • Managua - Barcelo Hotel - 4th floor - felt like swaying and lasted some moments, hear the glasses hitting each other, electricity stayed on, felt the two after shock waves.
  • granada, nicaragua - Sitting in my house in Granada, Nicaragua the house swayed and my chair was rocking. Hadn't felt that since I was a kid in California:-
  • Managua - 6th floor of our hotel.
  • Managua - I was at Casa Cross in Managua waiting for my husband to get off work. I could hear the building creaking and feel building rolling...what was for 30 seconds really felt like a minute long. No damage and no one was hurt. Just a few shaken nerves.
  • Managua - senti, um tremor mto forte, sou brasileira e vivo aki a 8 meses.
  • Quezalguaque - People went outside their homes, dogs began barking, unstable objects fell. Roughly 15 to 20 seconds?
  • Managua - I was in the airport, and the ground and walls of the little shops started to shake. Luckily, I was very close to the door, and I quickly made my way outside safe.
    		•
    WCATWC Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:35 6.6 9 MAP
    GEOFON Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:34 6.4 49 MAP
    EMSC Near Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:34 6.5 52 MAP
    USGS Near The Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:34 6.5 35 MAP
    USGS Near The Coast Of Nicaragua Jun 15 17:34 6.6 10 MAP

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    Shaking Strength *
    MMI II (Very weak shaking) ?
    People :
    Felt by persons at rest, on upper floors or favorably placed.
    MMI III (Weak shaking) ?
    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.
    MMI IV (Light shaking) ?
    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.
    MMI V (Moderate shaking) ?
    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.
    MMI VI (Strong shaking) ?
    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.
    MMI VII (Very strong shaking) ?
    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).
    MMI VIII (Severe shaking) ?
    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.
    MMI IX (Violent shaking) ?
    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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