Macroseismic intensity-based catalogue of earthquakes in Ecuador

Abstract

Earthquake magnitude catalogues and peak ground acceleration (PGA) maps for Ecuador may be found in several studies, however, there are rare works on the characterisation of the epicentral macroseismic intensities associated with earthquakes. In view of the concept that macroseismic intensity enables us to categorise the extent and severity of damage to buildings and structures caused by an earthquake, this study aims to compile a macro-seismic intensity-based catalogue of earthquakes in Ecuador, characterise the epicentral macroseismic intensities associated to seismogenic sources and perform a comparison with the National Seismic Hazard Map. This paper is the first that presents a catalogue of earthquakes with macroseismic intensities ≥VII and a series of maps of earthquake epicentres according to intensity, focal depth, data and magnitude of seismic events in Ecuador, based on the study of historical and instrumental records from 1900 to 2021. The obtained data shows that 95% of the territory of Ecuador has a PGA 0.1 g, which corresponds to seismic intensities greater than VII, while regions with seismicityVIII (ag = 0.2 g) constitute 86%, and 3.8% of the territory of Ecuador has very high seismicity (IX), where the PGA exceeds 0.5 g. This information suggests that the normative National Seismic Hazard Map of Ecuador underestimate the hazard mainly in the south-east and in the Central Andes of Ecuador, and require an actualization.