1949 Ambato earthquake

1949 Ambato earthquake

Ambato PACIFIC OCEAN ECUADOR PERU COLOMBIA Map showing location of epicenter of earthquake relative to Ambato; the bullseye is the epicenter; small blue lines are rivers
Date	August 5, 1949 (1949-08-05)
Magnitude	6.8 ML
Epicenter	1°30′S 78°12′W / 1.5°S 78.2°W / -1.5; -78.2Coordinates: 1°30′S 78°12′W / 1.5°S 78.2°W / -1.5; -78.2
Areas affected	Ecuador
Max. intensity	XI (Extreme)
Casualties	5,050

The 1949 Ambato earthquake was the largest earthquake in the Western Hemisphere in more than five years. On August 5, 1949, it struck Ecuador's Tungurahua Province southeast of its capital Ambato and killed 5,050 people. Measuring 6.8 on the Richter magnitude scale, it originated from a hypocenter 40 km (25 mi) beneath the surface. The nearby villages of Guano, Patate, Pelileo, and Pillaro were destroyed, and the city of Ambato suffered heavy damage. The earthquake flattened entire buildings, and subsequent landslides caused damage throughout the Tungurahua, Chimborazo, and Cotopaxi Provinces. It disrupted water mains and communication lines and opened a fissure into which the small town of Libertad sank. Moderate shaking from the event extended as far away as Quito and Guayaquil.

Earthquakes in Ecuador stem from two major interrelated tectonic areas: the subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate and the Andean Volcanic Belt. The 1949 Ambato earthquake initially followed an intersection of several northwest-southeast-trending faults in the Inter-Andean Valley which were created by the subduction of the Carnegie Ridge. Strata of rock cracked as the earthquake ruptured the faults, sending out powerful shockwaves. Today threats exist throughout the country from both interplate and intraplate seismicity.