Earthquake and Volcano Eruption, 1917

For background about the 1917 San Salvador earthquake and volcano eruption, several sources have been gleaned.

San Salvador Volcano, Global Volcanism Progarm: www.volcano.si.edu

"Dominating the landscape to the west of El Salvador’s capital of San Salvador is the massive volcano that shares the city’s name.  The San Salvador volcano last erupted in 1917, the beginning of the eruption being marked by an earthquake estimated to have been magnitude 5.6 which left up to 90% of the capital’s housing stock damaged or destroyed according to contemporary reports. The 1917 eruption, the seat of which was El Boquerón, the main summit of San Salvador, lasted from June to November and produced extensive lava flows and ashfall, damaging crops and causing some fatalities in the surrounding region."

The Volcanism Blog, September 2010, http://volcanism.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/the-daily-volcano-quote-san-salvador-1917/


"The inhabited regions about the base of the volcano suffered partial destruction [in the earthquake that heralded the beginning of the eruption], the capital, San Salvador, being particularly unfortunate. Ninety per cent of the homes were destroyed or rendered unfit for habitation … The outflow of the volcanic eruption, while abundant, caused comparatively little damage, since it was largely confined to uninhabited regions. Eight vents opened on the west side of the mountain, sweeping the slope with a stream of lava. A number of coffee plantations on the flanks of the stream were destroyed and, for a distance of two kilometres near Acajutla, the railroad was covered with lava to a depth of 30 feet. For the most part, the region affected is identical with that covered by the last great eruption occurring in 1674. It is said that in some places the old flow has been lifted bodily upon the new."

The San Salvador earthquake’, The Scientific Monthly, vol. 5, no. 2 (August 1917), pp. 191-2.

The Sunday Times, June 10, 1917, Perth, Australia, Page 1