Nuclear Plant Unharmed by Magnitude 6.4 or 6.6 Mexican Earthquake

Summary: The Veracruz Nuclear Power Plant is unharmed by a variously reported magnitude 6.4 or 6.6 Mexican earthquake at 1:49 p.m. local time in Chiapas.

Tres Picos shakemap: Public Domain, via USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Scientists announced a magnitude 6.4 or 6.6 Mexican earthquake 9 to 11 kilometers (5.59 to 6.84 miles) east-northeast of Tres Picos, Chiapas, southwesternmost Mexico at 1:49 p.m. local time Dec. 17, 2015.

The Pacific Ocean-fronting borders of the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco in southwest Mexico belong within the Mexican earthquake zone extending southward into neighboring Guatemala. United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program calculations consider initial and revised 6.4 and 6.6 magnitudes for Thursday’s earthquake at 19:49 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). USGS seismologists describe the depth as 97 kilometers (60.27 miles) down from the surface and the epicenter as 343 kilometers (213.13 miles) west-northwest of Guatemala City.

Offshore waters evidence no threat of tsunamis.

The assignment of numerical scales fits in with descriptive categories since magnitudes 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0 onward signal respectively moderate, strong, major and great earthquakes.

Geography gives Mexico seismicity-prone perches atop the North America continental plate and seismicity-sensitive positions respectively north and west of the Caribbean and South America continental plates. Geology has the Caribbean and North America Plates respectively moving 19 and 20 millimeters (0.75 to 0.79 inches) annually westward along the Cayman Trench toward Mexico. Caribbean, Cocos and North America Plate movements respectively 19-millimeter (0.75-inch) southwestward, 73-millimeter (2.87-inch) southeastward and 20-millimeter (0.79-inch) northwestward impact western Mexico’s offshore Middle America Trench.

Mexico joins the rest of America in fronting the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Geologists, geophysicists and seismologists know of the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire linking America, Asia and Australia into a chain of earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic activities.

Continental and sea plate meetings lead to the Aleutian, Bougainville, Cascadia, Izu-Ogasawara, Japan, Java, Kermadec, Kurile, Middle America, Peru-Chile, Philippine, Ryukyu and Tonga Trenches’ mega-thrust earthquakes. Earthquake activity on the Pacific Ocean’s western side may signal upcoming temblors on the east side, where triple plate junctions threaten northern California and southern Mexico. The USGS notes no mega-thrusts from western Mexico’s offshore Middle America Trench and no temblors in eastern Mexico’s State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave.

Mexico operates its only nuclear power plant, Laguna Verde, in Alto Lucero, Veracruz.

Online news releases pronounce Veracruz, immediately east and north of the earthquake strike zone, tremor-free despite temblor detection as far north as central Mexico’s Federal District.

Thursday’s earthquake at 1:49 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST) qualified as a strong seismic event because of depth; duration; eastward, northward, and southward-spreading tremors; and evacuations. Chiapas’ state civil protection agency reported cracked walls and minor damages while Civil Defense Director Ricardo de la Cruz restricted casualties and injuries to “panic attacks.”

Luis Manuel Garcia, local emergency official in Chiapas, stated of the strike zone’s straddling land and offshore waters: “We are still checking for damage, we are checking the coast. We cannot rule out any incident in the coastal area.”

M6.6 - 7km E of Tres Picos, Mexico ~ 15.877°N 93.464°W depth=93.7 km (58.2 miles): Public Domain, via USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Tres Picos shakemap: Public Domain, via USGS Earthquake Hazards Program @ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us100047zq#shakemap

Tres Picos earthquake: Public Domain, via USGS Earthquake Hazards Program @ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us100047zq#general_summary

For further information:

ABC7.com staff. 17 December 2015. “6.4-Magnitude Earthquake Hits near Tres Picos, Mexico.” ABC7 Eyewitness News > U.S. & World.
Available @ http://abc7.com/news/64-magnitude-earthquake-hits-near-tres-picos-mexico/1126741/

“Chiapas State, Mexico Earthquake, Mw6.6 (2015).” Reactions. Dec. 17, 2015.
Available @ http://www.reactionsnet.com/Article/3515487/Chiapas-State-Mexico-Earthquake-Mw66-2015.html#.VnQaPj1N6FU

HNN Staff. 17 December 2015. “No Tsunami Threat to Hawaii Following Large Quake off Mexico.” Hawaii News Now > News.
Available @ http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/30778854/no-tsunami-threat-to-hawaii-following-large-quake-off-mexico

Jabri, Parvez. 18 December 2015. “Strong 6.6-Magnitude Quake Strikes Southern Mexico.” Business Recorder > World > North America.
Available @ http://www.brecorder.com/world/north-america/268869-strong-66-magnitude-quake-strikes-southern-mexico.html

“M6.6 – 9km ENE of Tres Picos, Mexico.” USGS > Earthquake Hazards Program.
Available @ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us100047zq#general_summary

Siddiqui, Shoaib-ur-Rehman. 18 December 2015. “Strong 6.4-Magnitude Quake Strikes Southern Mexico.” Business Recorder > World > North America.
Available @ http://www.brecorder.com/world/north-america/268794-strong-64-magnitude-quake-strikes-southern-mexico.html

Reuters Staff. 17 December 2015. “Southwest Mexico Shaken by 6.4 Magnitude Quake, No Major Damages.” Reuters Canada > News > Top News.
Available @ http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN0U02T620151217

“Southern Mexico Rattled by Magnitude-6.4 Earthquake; No Damage Reported.” Truro Daily > News > Canada – World > Dec. 17, 2015.
Available @ http://www.trurodaily.com/Canada---World/Society/2015-12-17/article-4379442/Southern-Mexico-rattled-by-magnitude-6.4-earthquake;-no-damage-reported/1

USGS @USGS. 17 December 2015. "Shakemap for M6.4 earthquake near Tres Picos, Mexico ranges up to 'moderate.'" Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/USGS/status/677594463913517058