1999 Tehuacán earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1999 Tehuacán earthquake, or the 1999 Central Mexico earthquake, occurred on June 15, 1999 at 15:42 local time (20:42 UTC) near Tehuacán
, Puebla
, Mexico
, close to the state of Oaxaca
. It was an earthquake of magnitude Mw 7.0. Fifteen people were reported dead, and many historic buildings and monuments were damaged. Many houses collapsed in the state of Puebla, including parts of the Puebla City Hall. The state of Puebla was declared a disaster area. The Cocos Plate
is subducting beneath the North American Plate
in the Middle America Trench
. This earthquake was an inslab earthquake, and the epicenter had some distance from the Middle American Trench. This temblor was the tenth earthquake since 1864 with magnitude larger than 6.5 and similar location of epicenter.
Tehuacán
Tehuacán is the second largest city in the Mexican state of Puebla, nestled in the Southeast Valley of Tehuacán, bordering the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. The 2010 census reported a population of 248,716 in the city and 274,906 in its surrounding municipality of the same name, of which it serves...
, Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, close to the state of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
. It was an earthquake of magnitude Mw 7.0. Fifteen people were reported dead, and many historic buildings and monuments were damaged. Many houses collapsed in the state of Puebla, including parts of the Puebla City Hall. The state of Puebla was declared a disaster area. The Cocos Plate
Cocos Plate
The Cocos Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, named for Cocos Island, which rides upon it.-Geology:...
is subducting beneath the North American Plate
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
in the Middle America Trench
Middle America Trench
The Middle America Trench is a major subduction zone, an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America, stretching from central Mexico to Costa Rica...
. This earthquake was an inslab earthquake, and the epicenter had some distance from the Middle American Trench. This temblor was the tenth earthquake since 1864 with magnitude larger than 6.5 and similar location of epicenter.