Seismic intensity for inslab earthquakes in the southeast of the Mexican Volcanic Belt

Abstract

In this paper the seismic intensity of 5 inslab earthquakes with magnitude 6.0 ≤ Mw ≤ 7.3 and epicenter in the southeast of the Mexican Volcanic Belt is analyzed in terms of spatial distribution of the peak ground acceleration recorded by seismological stations located in Mexico. Based on the available instrumental data, intensity maps were generated using a Kriging interpolation and site effects for some seismological stations were estimated by a Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio analysis. Results show the crucial role that distribution of seismic instrumentation and site characteristics have in the determination of expected ground motion and reflect the importance of having an appropriate instrumentation coverage to improve seismic engineering analyses.