The epicenter was Carmen del Darién, in Chocó.
Photo: Colombian Geological Service
On the afternoon of this Tuesday, June 25, an earthquake was reported in the department of Chocó. According to the report published by the Colombian Geological Service, it had a magnitude of 4.2 and a shallow depth, as it was less than 30 kilometers.
The service also confirmed that the epicenter of the earthquake was Carmen del Darién, in Chocó. Several X Internet users pointed out that they could also feel it in Medellín, although, as they say, it was a slight movement.
As we have already explained in the pages of this newspaper, it is absolutely normal for it to tremble with some frequency in the country. In fact, according to the service, around 2,500 earthquakes occur per month. One of the main reasons this happens is that Colombia is a seismically active country, which has different tectonic plates, which are in contact.
This frequent contact between the plates generates earthquakes in most of the territory (mainly the coasts and around our mountain ranges). But, the effects that each earthquake can cause depends on the relationship between its magnitude and depth. In slightly more specific words, as the service explained, “the greater the magnitude and the less depth, the greater the impact there will be.”
Saving the technical parts, this basically means that the deeper an earthquake is, the more its energy can spread throughout the territory. Therefore, if it is more superficial it could cause greater damage to an area. In the case of what happened on June 25, its surface depth was less than 30 kilometers.
And although a large number of earthquakes occur, most are not of relevant magnitude or intensity. In fact, in the 30 years that the National Seismological Network has been monitoring seismic activity in the country, a total of almost 300,000 events of this type have been recorded.
