Today in Earthquake History

On August 4th...

• M7.2 - Near Coast of Ecuador, 1998

  Three people killed and forty injured in the Bahia de Caraquez- Canoa area. Approximately sixty percent of the buildings at Canoa severely damaged. Electricity, telephone and water services disrupted and most buildings with three or more stories damaged at Bahia de Caraquez. Considerable damage in many other parts of western Manabi Province. Landslides blocked a road between Bahia de Caraquez and Canoa. Felt strongly at Guayaquil and Quito. Felt throughout most of Ecuador and also at Cali, Colombia. Complex earthquake. A small event is followed by a larger one about 3 seconds later.

• M8.0 - Dominican Republic, 1946

  100 deaths.
  About 20,000 people left homeless and severe damage in northern Dominican Republic from Samana to Santiago and Puerto Plata. Some damage occurred at Santo Domingo (Ciudad Trujillo) and slumping and sand blows were observed in the Yaque del Norte and Yuna River Valleys. The death toll was light because the quake struck in early afternoon on a holiday, when most people were outdoors. It was felt strongly (V-VI) in parts of Haiti and Puerto Rico, including San Juan; and (III) in the Virgin Islands and eastern Cuba. Almost all the people killed were drowned by a tsunami at Matanzas, near Nagua (Julia Molina). Although the waves were only about 2.5 m (8 ft) high at this location, they moved inland several km, causing such severe damage that the town was abandoned. Maximum wave heights were estimated at 4-5 m (13-16 ft) at Nagua. A small tsunami was recorded by tide gauges at San Juan, Puerto Rico; Bermuda; Daytona Beach, Florida and Atlantic City, New Jersey. A major aftershock (M 7.6) occurred on Aug 08, causing additional damage and also generating a slight tsunami that was recorded at the same tide stations.