The 1942 Guatemala earthquake occurred at 17:37 local time on August 6 and had ratings of 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and 7.9 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. The epicenter was located off the southern coast of Guatemala,[4] and it was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded there.
The earthquake caused widespread damage in the west-central highlands of Guatemala. Thirty-eight people died in the earthquake. Landslides caused by the combination of the earthquake and the heavy seasonal rains destroyed roads, the Inter-American Highway, and telegraph lines. In Tecpán, in the department of Chimaltenango, more than 60% of the houses were demolished. Damage was reported in some buildings in Antigua Guatemala, including the Palacio de Los Capitanes Generales and some catholic churches.[5][6] The earthquake could also be felt strongly in Mexico and El Salvador.[7]
This earthquake was a lower crustal intraplate earthquake with a compressional focal mechanism.[3][8][page needed] Tensional activity has been dominant along the down-dip edge along the 1942 rupture zone.[9] It was estimated that earthquakes near the Middle America Trench with magnitudes of about 7.5~8.0 occurred at intervals of 94 ± 54 yrs in southwestern Guatemala. Such historical earthquakes included the earthquakes in 1765, 1902, and 1942.[10]
