1985 Mexico City Earthquake - Effects of Earthquake in Other Parts of Mexico

Effects of Earthquake in Other Parts of Mexico

Although much closer to the epicenter, the states of Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero and Michoacán suffered only mild to moderate damage. Landslides caused damage at Atenquique, Jalisco, and near Jala, Colima. Rockslides were reported along highways near Ixtapa, Guerrero, with Sand volcanos and ground cracks in Lazaro Cardenas. Students at the Universidad de las Américas in nearby Puebla reported feeling as if the cafeteria had been lifted and rocked back and forth, shattering windows and injuring some people but mostly causing panic. A small tsunami caused only mild damage to Lázaro Cárdenas and Zihuatanejo. Some fishing boats were reported missing but these reports were never confirmed. One exceptional case was in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, where about 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed, with about 50 dead. Some damage also occurred as far away as the states of Mexico, Morelos and parts of Veracruz, on the Gulf coast. Coastal and most inland damage was moderated by the fact that most of the west of Mexico sits on bedrock, which serves to transmit the shockwaves without amplifying them. La Villita, and Infiernillo Dams, near the coast, were superficially damaged and undamaged respectively.

Off the coasts of Michoacán and Guerrero, the 19 and 20 September events caused a rupture in the seabed 240 km long and 70 km wide, located between the subduction trench and the coastline. This is an intertidal zone and the event caused widespread mortality in a number of species living in the area such as algae and shellfish.