December 12, 1979 Earthquake: Off Shore, Pacific Ocean, Colombia

On December 12, 1979 at 07:59:4.3 UTC a major earthquake measuring 7.9 occurred along the Pacific Coast of Colobmia. The earthquake and tsunami associated with it were responsible for the destruction of at least six fishing villages and the death of hundreds of people in the Narino State of Colombia. The earthquake was felt in Bogota, Cali, Popayan, Buenaventura and other major cities and villages in Colombia and in Guayaquil, Esmeraldas, Quito and other parts of Ecuador.

Hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami was Charco, a Colombian fishing village of 4,000 persons--about 300 km north of the Ecuadorian border, where 100% of all the houses were either seriously damaged or totally destroyed. Most of the houses at Charco were built on stilts over a lake. it is not known at this time whether the houses were destroyed by the earthquake or by wave action. Numerous deaths and injuries were reported from this area. Most of the victims were women and children. Hundreds of people at Charco had to sleep on the ground following the disaster and had to go without food and drinking water for several days.

The second populated area that was hardest hit by the earthquake was the seaport of Tumaco, only about 80 km from the earthquake epicenter. At least 40 persons were killed and 750 injured by the earthquake, which destroyed approximately 10% of the houses and other buildings in the town of 80,000. Included in the buildings that were destroyed was the four-story las Americas Hotel.

Tumaco is built on an island made up of alluvial deposits of Rio Mira and Rio Caunapi. In fact the whole area appears to have formed from deltaic deposits. Evidence of liquefaction was evident in many areas of the city of Tumaco where structures failed and it was particularly evident along sections of the waterfront. Evidence of subsidence was found on either side of the bridge connecting the island where Tumaco is situated to the island where the airport is located. It appeared that the island dropped by as much as 60 cm.

(above ref #3330)

1979 Dec 12 07:59:5.58 UTC, 1.555 N 79.276 W, magnitude 8.09 Mw (ref #10476, v 9.1)

Fatalities, injuries and extensive damage in the Pasto, Tumaco, Guapi, and Buenaventura areas and on Gorgona Island, Colombia.

Reference #1053 lists 600 deaths, 20,000 injured and extensive damageReference #1250 lists 300 deaths, 1,500 injured, $8 million damage.Reference #2065 quotes the Red Cross figure of 643 deaths, 1,875 injured, 72 missing.Reference #2065 also quotes the Department of Civil Defense figure of 454 deaths, 1,047 injured, and 125 missing.

Depth is listed in Ramirez and Goberna (Ref #2065) as 33 km; they give a magnitude of 7.9 (Richter). The event produced a number of aftershocks, and also a tsunami. Many of the fatalities were caused by the tsunami, but these are generally not delineated from overall earthquake deaths. In the interior lands, damage was less.

EM-DAT (Ref #1250) lists $8 million in damage; the National Department of Planning (Ref #2065) calculated damage to housing, highways, and public services at upwards of $710 million.