April 16, 2016 Tsunami: Off Coast, Ecuador

Reference #11495:

The earthquake generated a local tsunami generated which was registered in Esmeraldas Dart buoy 32067 INOCAR - TSU , 19:03 with a range of 50cm . This event was also recorded by tide gauges of La Libertad in a first register at 21:15 and a disturbance of 50 cm and the other at 22:00 with a disturbance of 20 cm ; and Santa Cruz Galapagos at 22:00 with a disturbance of 20 cm.

Reference #11490:

LA LIBERTAD EC (2.2S, 80.9W) tide gauge, Max Wave Arrival 0218 on 17 April 2016 (UTC), Max Amplitude 0.14M/ 0.5FT, Wave Period (min) 70.

Reference #11966:

There is not certainty if the April 16th tsunami was triggered by a massive submarine landslide or seafloor coseimic deformation. According to Oceanographic Institute of the Navy, INOCAR, the crest of the tsunami wave arrived to the city of Esmeraldas 6 minutes after the earthquake. This is a very short time for the tsunami travel time from the tsunami landslides scars proposed by Ratzov et al, 2007, and also for the fault plane for the similar 1942 earthquake, as it is demonstrated in Ioualalen et al, 2011. Using both numerical simulation, the tsunami would have arrived more than 20 minutes from its generation zones. For the case of seismically-induced tsunami, we would need to update the numerical simulation when the focal mechanism is well defined.

Several people at the coastal communities reported remarkable changes in the seawater level and also

strong rift currents, although the amplitude of the tsunami did not reach any high water level.Fortunately for these coastal communities, the tsunami impact occurred at low tide. This important fact appears to be the reason that no inundation occurred and considerable physical effects at the coastalines have been absent. However, this case could have been catastrophic under different tide conditions. It should be noted that some of the authorities were not alerted for a tsunami hazard due to the false perception that a tsunami would not be possible because the epicenter in the continental and not on the marine side.

Reference #12060:

The earthquake triggered a tsunami that did not impact the

Ecuadorian coast because it was weak and it reached the coast at

low tide. It was recorded at four digital tide gauges of continental Ecuador: Esmeraldas, Bahía de Caráquez, Manta, and La Libertad; they are monitored by Instituto Oceanográfico de la Armada (INOCAR), the Ecuadorian Navy.

The first notable wave crest reached Esmeraldas, then Bahía de Caráquez, followed by Manta, and finally La Libertad, 10 min, 1 h 45 min, 2 h, and 3 h, respectively, after the earthquake occurred.