The 2014 Guerrero earthquake occurred with a

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

of 7.2–7.3 that hit the state of

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

, close to

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, on 18 April at 14:27:26 UTC (9:27 a.m. local time). The epicenter occurred 265 kilometers southwest of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and at a depth of 24 kilometers. Thrust motion at shallow depths is what caused the earthquake. This was broadly consistent with a slip on or near the Guerrero Seismic Gap, a boundary between the Cocos and

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

plates along the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

approximately 200 kilometers long. The shaking was felt in states as far away as

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

and

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala, is one of the 32 federal entities that comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tlaxcala, 60 municipalities and t ...

Location

The April 2014 earthquake was located just northwest of the rupture area of a 1957 Guerrero earthquake that measured 7.8 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

. Since 1975, 23 earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater have occurred within 200 kilometers of the same area as the April 2014 earthquake.

Damage

One person was injured when a wall collapsed in the city of Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. 30 homes and a few buildings in

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

sustained minor damage. At least 700 buildings and over 500 homes were damaged in

, and 21 homes collapsed. Building and home damage was also reported in capital

and states

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

, and

. Blackouts were reported in

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

Ecatepec Ecatepec (), officially Ecatepec de Morelos, is a municipality in the State of Mexico situated in the north of the Greater Mexico City urban area. The municipal seat is San Cristóbal Ecatepec. The city of Ecatepec is co-extensive with the mun ...

Chimalhuacán Chimalhuacán () (Nahuatl for "place of those who have shields") is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of State of Mexico, Mexico. It lies just outside the northeast border of Mexico City and is part of the Greater Mexico City u ...

Colonia del Valle Colonia Del Valle ( Spanish: ''Del Valle neighborhood'') is a Colonia in the Benito Juarez borough of Mexico City. Founded as an aristocratic recreational neighborhood during the Porfiriato era, it has witnessed the various transformations ...

, Nezahualcóyotl,

Ixtapaluca Ixtapaluca is a city and a municipalities of Mexico, municipality in the eastern part of the State of Mexico in Mexico. It lies between Mexico City and the western border of the state of Puebla. The name Ixtapaluca means "Where the salt gets wet". ...

Azcapotzalco Azcapotzalco ( ; ; from ''wikt:azcapotzalli, āzcapōtzalli'' “anthill” + ''wikt:-co, -co'' “place”; literally, “In the place of the anthills”) is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. Azcap ...

Coyoacán Coyoacán ( ; , Otomi: ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre- ...

Xochimilco Xochimilco (; ) is a borough () of Mexico City. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the precolonial period. Today, the borough cons ...

Tláhuac Tláhuac is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City, located in the southeastern edge of the entity. Though Tláhuac still contains rural communities within its borders, mostly in the southern and eastern p ...

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", an ...

, and around the state of

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

s were reported, including 13 in

, 1 in

, 1 in Michoacan, and 1 in

References

External links

Mexico's Seismological Service
*
Other earthquakes in the region
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerrero earthquake, 2014 2014 earthquakes 2014 in Mexico Earthquakes in Mexico Guerrero 2014 disasters in Mexico

Location

Damage

See also

References

Further reading

External links