The United States Geological Survey Recorded
a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake at a depth of 83.6 km beneath the town of Nueva Concepción, in Escuintla Department, Guatemala, slightly after 1.10 am local time
(slightly after 7.10 am GMT) on Wednesday 16 February 2022. Two people are reported to have died due to this event, both due to heart attacks, a number of buildings have been damaged, and several landslides triggered. People have reported feeling this event across Guatemala and El Salvador, as well as in parts of Honduras and Mexico.
The approximate location of the 16 January 2022 Guatemala Earthquake. USGS.
Guatemala
is located on the southern part of the boundary between the North American and Caribbean Plates, close to their
boundary with the Cocos Plate, which underlies part of the east Pacific.
The Cocos Plate is being pushed northwards by expansion of the crust
along the East Pacific Rise, and is subducted beneath the North American and Caribbean Plates along the Middle American Trench, which runs parallel to the south
coast of Guatemala and neighbouring countries, passing under Central
America as it sinks into the Earth's interior. This is not a smooth
process, the plates tend to stick together, breaking apart again once
the pressure from the northward movement of the Cocos Plate builds up to
much, triggering Earthquakes.
See also...
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