On the morning of this Saturday, September 16, a new earthquake shook several regions of the country. According to the Colombian Geological Survey (SGC) report, the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.0.
Based on the bulletin issued by the SGC, several people reported on social networks from which region they felt the tremor.
“Strong in Bucaramanga”; “Madrid, Cundinamarca. Minor but noticeable”; “We had breakfast and the lamps were changed. Then we confirm on this page”; “Felt in the west of Medellín. The reports from @SismoDetector came immediately. There were 224 immediate reports. How good is the partnership between @sgcol and @SismoDetector”; “It was felt on the third floor of my complex, they should explain to people why it shakes so much so that we don’t get scared”; “very soft in Medellín”; “I received a notification on my phone, Portal 80 in Bogotá, it was easy to feel”; “Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia”; “it was felt in Sogamoso, Boyacá”; “mild in Villavicencio,” wrote several X users.
In summary, although the earthquake was mild, it was felt in several departments, including Santander (where the epicenter was), Cundinamarca, Medellín, Risaralda, Boyacá and Meta.
At around 1:59 a.m., in the early hours of that day, the SGC reported another earthquake, the epicenter of which was also in the municipality of Los Santos. The magnitude of the movement was 3.2 and the depth was 150 km.
Why is Colombia shaking so much?
The SGC has repeatedly stated that Colombia is a “very seismically active” area due to the interaction of tectonic plates on the coasts and around the mountain ranges.
In fact, to the surprise of many Colombians, this situation results in about 2,500 earthquakes per month in the country, almost three per hour, according to the organization.
However, the SGC states that most of these movements do not reach a relevant size or intensity and therefore often go unnoticed.
A very important factor is that the country lies on the edge of three tectonic plates: the South American plate in the south, the Caribbean plate in the north and the Nazca plate in the Pacific.
An impressive fact is that the National Seismological Network of Colombia has documented nearly 300,000 of these telluric movements over the past three decades.
Which app tells you you’re shaking?
During earthquakes, there are cases where mobile device users receive alerts. Although earthquakes are natural phenomena that cannot be predicted, these reports can be of great help.
In fact, in recent months, many people have received a Google alert indicating that quakes will occur, which has allowed them to flee to safety; It should be made clear that this is not a mechanism that can predict where and when earthquakes will occur. However, because of this technology’s seismic sensors, they can be alerted if an earthquake is developing before it is perceived by humans, making the difference between life and death.
“The Android Earthquake Alert System is a free service that detects earthquakes around the world and can alert Android users before the tremors begin,” Android notes on Google’s emergency portal.
As they explain, ShakeAlert uses a network of 1,675 seismic sensors across the United States that are used to detect current earthquakes. Once it can calculate the strength and precise geographical location, it sends a signal to the Android alert system, which notifies its users in the region of the development of this telluric movement.
