2008 El Calvario earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 2008 El Calvario earthquake occurred in central Colombia
on 24 May 2008. It was registered at 5.9 Mw on the moment magnitude scale
. The earthquake occurred at 02:20:46 p.m. (19:20:46 UTC) at the epicenter (El Calvario
, Meta). 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
. The current casualty count is 11 confirmed fatalities, 4181 injured and 7051 affected, mostly in the towns of Puente Quetame, Fosca
, Fomeque
and Guayabetal
in Cundinamarca
, and in El Calvario
, Meta.
Moments before, at 12:08 local time (17:08 GMT), another quake was registered. It registered 4.0 Mw and its epicenter was near San Juanito
, in the Meta Central Department, at a depth of 30 km.
The town of Puente Quetame, Cundinamarca
was the most affected. Several houses collapsed in this small town of 6500 inhabitants. The reconstruction of the affected structures cost 10 million USD (exchange rate COP
2000). In Bogotá
, 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
and Bucaramanga
.
In Guayabetal
, Meta, 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.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
on 24 May 2008. It was registered at 5.9 Mw on the moment magnitude scale
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
. The earthquake occurred at 02:20:46 p.m. (19:20:46 UTC) at the epicenter (El Calvario
El Calvario
El Calvario is a town and municipality in the Meta Department, Colombia. It was the epicenter of the 2008 Colombia earthquake....
, Meta). The depth was 35 km; it was superficial according to an Ingeominas report. The epicenter was located 35 km from Villavicencio
Villavicencio
Villavicencio is a city and municipality in Colombia, capital of the Department of Meta, with 361,058 inhabitants. The city is located at 4°08S, 73°40W, 75 km southeast of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá by the Guatiquía river...
and 50 km from Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
. The current casualty count is 11 confirmed fatalities, 4181 injured and 7051 affected, mostly in the towns of Puente Quetame, Fosca
Fosca, Cundinamarca
Fosca is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, Fomeque
Fomeque
Fomeque is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
and Guayabetal
Guayabetal
Guayabetal is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
in Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
, and in El Calvario
El Calvario
El Calvario is a town and municipality in the Meta Department, Colombia. It was the epicenter of the 2008 Colombia earthquake....
, Meta.
Moments before, at 12:08 local time (17:08 GMT), another quake was registered. It registered 4.0 Mw and its epicenter was near San Juanito
San Juanito
San Juanito is a town and municipality in the Meta Department, Colombia....
, in the Meta Central Department, at a depth of 30 km.
The town of Puente Quetame, Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
was the most affected. Several houses collapsed in this small town of 6500 inhabitants. The reconstruction of the affected structures cost 10 million USD (exchange rate COP
Colombian peso
The peso is the currency of Colombia. Its ISO 4217 code is COP and it is also informally abbreviated as COL$. However, the official peso symbol is $. As 20 July 2011, the exchange rate of the Colombian peso is 1750 Colombian pesos to 1 U.S. dollar.-History:The peso has been the currency of Colombia...
2000). In Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, 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
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
and Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga is a Colombian city, and capital city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth largest city economy and sixth largest population in Colombia, with 1,212,656 people in its metropolitan area...
.
In Guayabetal
Guayabetal
Guayabetal is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
, Meta, 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.
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External links
- Strong Quake In Colombian Capital - Yahoo! News UK
- http://www.eltiempo.com/nacion/2008-05-24/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-4206638.html
- Reconstrucción de Quetame costaría 20 mil millones de pesos
- Habitantes de Quetame siguen con miedo después del temblor