South America once again suffers the ravages of an earthquake. This Monday, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook a good part of Colombia, leaving a total of 224 dead so far, although the number could be higher as the hours go by. This is the largest record in the country in a decade, affecting the northwest of the country and also leaving a multitude of material damages.
This earthquake occurs just a month after the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, which devastated the country and left more than 6,000 dead. And given the temporal and geographical proximity of both events, many wonder if there is a real relationship between both earthquakes.
To this end, a multitude of experts have come out publicly to clarify the situation and solve one of the most worrying enigmas.
Is there a relationship between both earthquakes?
Colombia and Venezuela are neighboring countries, and both have suffered the consequences of a strong earthquake. On June 24, an unprecedented seismic storm hit Venezuela. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake was followed just 39 seconds later by another magnitude 7.5. Now, a month and a half later, Colombia has suffered an earthquake of the same magnitude.
That is why the same question arises: Is there a relationship between both earthquakes? Many have questioned whether the two events are related, which has forced experts to come out publicly to clarify it. Although both earthquakes occurred very close in time, the truth is that both phenomena respond to completely independent dynamics.
As explained by Viviana Dionisio, a seismologist from the National Seismological Network of Colombia, the Colombian earthquake has a different tectonic origin than the earthquakes recorded in Venezuela.
Different origin for both earthquakes
As explained by various specialists, the geological and geotectonic context is completely different between the two countries. “It was a tectonic earthquake mainly associated with a subduction mechanism,” details Dionisio, who explained that Colombia is located on the South American plate, in the Atlantic Ocean.
This phenomenon occurs when the Nazca plate, in the Pacific Ocean, goes under the South American plate, which causes an accumulation of energy in the contact between the two and can cause large earthquakes such as those recorded in countries located in the so-called ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’.
“When one tectonic plate is getting under another, it is said to be a subduction earthquake. Then they occur, in general, on the coasts,” explained the seismologist. However, the earthquakes recorded in Venezuela respond to a different mechanism.
Unlike the Colombian earthquake, geologist Gustavo Ortiz has detailed for CNN that the tremors on Venezuelan soil occurred at an extremely shallow depth, that is, less than 20 kilometers, and with a lateral movement that has multiplied the destructive impact of the waves on the surface.
Furthermore, there is no real connection between both events even though they were of a similar magnitude, since the latter was a consequence of an interaction between the Caribbean and South American plates through lateral movement.
Colombia, a country with high risk of tectonic movements
As Dionisio has stated, Colombia is a country with a high risk of seismic threat due to the interaction of several tectonic plates and the existence of numerous faults associated with the Andes and Pacific mountain ranges.
For this reason, the expert has explained that it is not unusual for an earthquake of these characteristics to have its epicenter in Chocó, located in the Pacific region, due to the tectonic dynamics of western Colombia and the interaction between the Nazca and South American plates.
