There have been 1,719 aftershocks since the September 19 earthquake that shook Puerto Vallarta

On September 19, a magnitude 7.7 tremor was recorded in Jalisco at 1:05 p.m. with an epicenter in Coalcomán, Michoacán.

From that day and until 6:00 p.m. on September 23, 1,719 aftershocks have occurred, the one that occurred on Thursday was the strongest with a magnitude of 6.9, and woke up the people of Puerto Vallarta when it struck at 1: 16 in the morning.

The primary earthquake was recorded exactly on the same day as the tremors that occurred in 1985 and 2017 that left thousands of victims and damage in states such as Mexico City, on the 37th and 5th anniversary of each of those earthquakes.

At the national level, there are five deaths from recent earthquakes, and more than six thousand homes damaged.

In Jalisco, there were no injuries or fatalities reported, but there were damages to some buildings in 12 municipalities. Below we summarize what you know about the consequences of earthquakes in the State:

The effects in Jalisco after the earthquakes

After the aftershock of magnitude 6.9 registered on Thursday, September 22, the Jalisco Emergency Committee announced that there are already 12 affected municipalities after the earthquakes that occurred last September 19.

These are: Tolimán, Zapotitlán de Vadillo, Cuautitlán de García Barragán, Tonila, Zapotlán El Grande, Gómez Farías, San Gabriel, Sayula, Atoyac, Amacueca, Villa Purificación and Tizapán el Alto.

Houses with damage

There are 243 homes with partial damage and 59 with total damage, of which 35 are in Tolimán, where the “Juan José Arreola” secondary school has severe damage and seven more educational centers report partial damage.

Schools

At least 16 basic education schools in Jalisco suffered damage caused by the earthquake last Monday, September 19, and require rehabilitation works, reported the Secretary of State Education, Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes, who explained that they continue with the inspection of the schools. He commented that 14 properties cannot be used at the moment and they are looking for alternate venues to resume classes.

The University of Guadalajara (UdeG) reported that at least three university centers and 23 high schools had minor damage.

Churches

The Emergency Committee reported that 14 religious centers have also been evaluated. The church that reports major damage is that of Zapotitlán de Vadillo, while that of Tolimán presents partial damage; both are closed.

In addition, the churches of Nuestra Señora de la Merced and San Agustín will be reinforced.

It was also announced that a sinkhole was detected that covers both lanes of federal highway 80 El Grullo-Autlán de Navarro at kilometer 186.

The mural by Clemente Orozco presents cracks

The mural “The creative and rebel man”, by José Clemente Orozco, presents cracks and slight damage after the continuous earthquakes that were perceived in Guadalajara, the last one in the early hours of this Thursday of magnitude 6.9, as announced by the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) in a statement.

Avoid falling for rumors

After the tremors, rumors began to emerge on social networks that there will be more earthquakes that could exceed the magnitude of those that have already occurred due to an alleged activation of the “Ring of Fire”.

The Government of Jalisco reported that “in the last hours an audio circulates on WhatsApp and social networks about the supposed ‘Activation of the ring fire’ that could cause strong earthquakes in the coming days.”

In this regard, the authority stressed that this information is false and invited citizens to disclose only official data.

What is the ring of fire and how does it affect Mexico?

With the recent seismic activity in the month of September 2022, people have begun to wonder what is the so-called Ring of Fire, which is a tectonic chain that surrounds the Pacific Ocean.

It has a length of 40 thousand kilometers, from which 90 percent of the world’s seismic activity is derived, in addition to having 75 percent of the planet’s active volcanoes.

Its main characteristic is that it is a subduction zone, which means that its tectonic plates sink under each other, causing seismic movements. In these areas, tremors can reach a depth of up to 670 kilometers deep.

The Ring of Fire is bounded by several major plates, for example, the Pacific Plate, the South American Plate, the Nazca Plate, the North American Plate, the Philippine Plate, and the Australian Plate.

Which countries run through the ring of fire?

In the area of ​​North America, it touches the following regions: Mexico, United States, and Canada.

It travels through Central America: Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, and Guatemala.

In South America, it passes through: Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Through the Asian zone, it passes through Japan, Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Finally, in the Oceania region, it covers Tuvalu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and New Zealand.

Why does it affect the Mexican territory?

Because the entire Mexican Pacific coast adjoins the ring of fire, Mexico is within an area in which more earthquakes are recorded worldwide.

Additionally, there are different important volcanoes such as Popocatépetl and Colima, which due to the constant movements they have suffered recently generate minor eruptions, emitting columns that reach up to 15 km in height.

In an article published by Gaceta UNAM, they explain that the ring of fire is also associated with the formation of large mountains.

In addition, the Mexican volcanoes are related to the Cocos plate and the Rivera plate, in such a way that they are delimited below the North American plate.

Why is the Mexican zone moving?

According to the document from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), earthquakes occur inside the Earth tens of kilometers deep and in the case of subduction zones (like in the case of Mexico), they can occur at a depth of 670 km, just where the upper mantle ends.

The tectonic plates are large blocks of rock that are hundreds of kilometers in dimension, only a fragment of them needs to move for a major earthquake to occur.

A small tremor happens when the tectonic plate moves only a few centimeters, and for an earthquake to be of greater magnitude it is necessary for the plate to move approximately two meters.

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