The Mw 7.2 El Mayor Cucapah (Baja California) Earthquake of April 4, 2010

By Jorge Meneses, Jonathan Stewart, Robert Anderson, José Angel, Jeremy Callister, Mark Creveling, Curt Edwards, Lisa Everingham, Víctor Garcia-Delgado, Arnold Gastelum, Gabriele Guerrini, Ricardo Hernandez, Matthew Hoehler, Tara Hutchinson, David King, Ioannis Koutromanos, Betsy Mathieson, Silvia Mazzoni, Gary McGavin, Flavio Mosele, Juan Murcia, Hussein Okail, Steven Okubo, Chris Poland, Janise Rodgers, Travis Sanders, JP Singh, Heidi Stenner, Majid Sarraf, Benson Shing, Joséph Smith, Andreas Stavridis, Fred Turner, Derrick Watkins, Richard Wood, David Ayres, Scott J. Brandenberg, John Fletcher, James R. Gingery,  Dong Youp Kwak, Timothy P. McCrink, Jorge F. Meneses, Diane Murbach, Thomas K. Rockwell, Orlando Teran, and John C. Tinsley.

July 2010, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute & Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance.

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) coordinated reconnaissance teams in the damaged areas. The California Seismic Safety Commission, Degenkolb, Exponent Failure, GeoHazards International, Hilti North America, JP Singh and Associates, Kleinfelder, Parsons, PSOMAS, Simon Wong Engineers, Tobolski/Watkins, and the University of California San Diego participated in these efforts. The EERI teams worked closely with GEER (GeoEngineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance). The surface faulting mapping was led by researchers at Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE) in México and at San Diego State University. Geotechnical reconnaissance and mapping was led by researchers at UCLA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the California Geological Survey. This brief report describes fault rupture, liquefaction and lateral spread, and the effects of the earthquake on buildings, bridges, water and wastewater systems, nonstructural components, agriculture and the economy.