Active Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics, "Hot Spots" and the "Ring of Fire" - USGS 
Posted on 05/24/2008 1:44:12 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
BOGOTA (Reuters) - A shallow, 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit central Colombia on Saturday, shaking buildings in the capital, Bogota, and sending panicked residents into the streets, witnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Authorities said there were no initial reports of injuries, but Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno told local radio some buildings in the city were slightly damaged.
"The report we have so far is that it was strong and some structures have suffered damage, but there is nothing to lament," Moreno said.
One Bogota government building was evacuated after the quake sent a shower of bricks tumbling off one of its walls. A tremor of that magnitude can cause considerable damage.
The quake was centered 33 miles east-southeast of Bogota at a depth of 6.2 miles, the USGS said. The USGS earlier measured the quake at 5.7 magnitude at a depth of 2.2 miles.
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/last_event/world_colombia.html
Magnitude 5.6 COLOMBIA
Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 19:20:43 UTC
Preliminary Earthquake Report
Magnitude
5.6
Date-Time
Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 19:20:43 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal Time
Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 02:20:43 PM local time at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
4.44N 73.67W
Depth
10.0 kilometers
Region
COLOMBIA
Distances
30 km (20 miles) N of Villavicencio, Colombia
50 km (30 miles) ESE of BOGOTA, Colombia
125 km (80 miles) SSW of Tunja, Colombia
125 km (80 miles) E of Girardot, Colombia
Location Uncertainty
Error estimate: horizontal +/- 5.8 km; depth fixed by location program
Parameters
Nst=181, Nph=181, Dmin=86.7 km, Rmss=1.08 sec, Erho=5.8 km, Erzz=0 km, Gp=59.9 degrees
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usskbn
Active Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics, "Hot Spots" and the "Ring of Fire" - USGS
Hell, I could withstand 5.6 magnitude earthquakes all day, standing on my head!
Sure, in a building on hard rock in a city with US building codes.
Bogota sits at the foot of the Andes. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a lot of buildings in the southern part of town are anchored on nothing but loose dirt.
Building codes there are enforced with typical Latin American zeal, or lack there of. I've been on the 20th floor of a building there during a 5.0 quake and can tell you it was a pretty exciting ride.
It’s a slow news day, I reckun. They had it at 5.8 but dropped it a bit..
We were home here in North Bogota when it happened, and it gave me the sensation of motion sickness, like vertigo. No damage here - but they are reporting 30 dead out towards Villavicencio.
Interesting. Just in time to test the new South American alliance that has just been formed. Maybe they’ll look to it, instead of the USA for aid....right...
South America nations found union
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7417896.stm
The leaders of 12 South American nations have formed a regional body aimed at boosting economic and political integration in the region.
Unasur summit in Brasilia on 23 May 2008
Some members hope Unasur could become a regional version of the EU
At a summit in Brazil, they signed a treaty which created the Union of South American Nations (Unasur).
Mr Lula said at the summit in Brasilia that the differences between some Unasur governments were a sign of vitality in the region.
“The instability some want to see in our continent is a sign of life, especially political life,” Mr Lula said.
“There’s no democracy without people [protesting] in the streets,” he added.
The Unasur members are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Wow, are you really in Colombia?
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