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Earthquakes in El Salvador trigger response from Ericsson

It's incredibly frightening to see firsthand how much damage a powerful, 45-second earthquake can do. And the first El Salvador earthquake on the 13th of January was big: 7,6 on the Richter scale!

February 17, 2001

Since then, there have been about 4500 aftershocks. Most of these were small and could not be felt. But about seventy were stronger, more than 4 on the Richter scale, and were felt. According to the Red Cross in El Salvador, the earthquake of January 13th killed more than 800 people, injured 1500 people and left more than 1 million homeless.
Then suddenly and without warning, a second strong earthquake struck on the 13th of February.
This one measured 6,6 on the Richter scale and had its epicenter 30 kilometers east of San Salvador. The second earthquake killed another 1200 people, injured 4500 and left another 100,000 people homeless. The shake caused landslides and raised panic in the affected area.
Unfortunately, El Salvador soon felt the power of a third large earthquake. This quake came on the 17th of February, measured 5,3 on the Richter scale, with an epicenter in the capital San Salvador and lasted for 10 seconds. Already damaged walls collapsed and more people were injured. In San Augostin City and in San Vicente 80% of the houses were destroyed. The cost of the damage is calculated to 30 billiards of SEK.
The earthquakes and aftershocks continue to hit El Salvador and parts of Central America.
- Friday February 23 there was a quake measuring 4,2 on the Richter scale
- Saturday February 24 another quake measuring 4,2 to 5,0 on the Richter scale
- Sunday February 25 a series of quakes measuring from 2,9 to 4,6 on the Richter scale.
- Wednesday February 28 a quake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale just off the coast of El Salvador
When these aftershocks hit, thousands of El Salvadorians rush in panic to the streets. Sometimes, landslides are triggered. In one instance, a huge cloud of smoke rose from the volcano outside San Salvador, a telltale sign of a landslide.
Luckily, no casualties have been reported from these very recent quakes. Experts warn that faults under the earth’s crust can remain active for months. In some cases, aftershocks have lasted up to a year. According to the Environment Ministry in El Salvador the earthquakes and aftershocks are caused by compression stress triggered deep under the earth’s crust in an area south west of the capital.
With more than 4500 shakes in five weeks it's not surprising that the people in El Salvador are terrified. These earthquakes have taken a toll on their lives that cannot be repaired with clean water, food and shelter. It will be some time before El Salvadorians feel safe and life truly returns to normal.

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