Full Notification

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake in Central America

The October 14, 2014 M 7.3 earthquake off the coast of El Salvador occurred as the result of normal faulting in the Central America subduction zone. The location and depth of the earthquake are consistent with its occurrence either within the subducting oceanic Cocos plate, or in the accretionary wedge of the overriding Caribbean plate, rather than on the main subduction zone thrust. At the latitude of this event, the Cocos plate is converging with the Caribbean plate at a rate of roughly 73 mm/yr in an east-northeast direction. The approximate depth of the subducted Cocos plate at the location of the earthquake is 50 km.

This earthquake did not induce a tsunami warning for the Santa Barbara County coastline.

The Great California Shakeout

This event is a reminder that we sit in a very active pacific earthquake region and should serve as motivation to participate in the Great California Shakeout on Thursday, October 16th, at 10:16 am.