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Large intermediate-depth, normal-faulting earthquakes in the subducted Cocos plate result in significant damage to the cities and the villages of the Mexican altiplano. Some examples are the earthquake of January 15, 1931 (M7. 8), which caused heavy damage to the city of Oaxaca (Barrera, 1931; Singh et al., 1985); and the earthquakes of August 28, 1973 (M w 7.0) and October 24, 1980 (M w 7.0), which resulted in deaths and damages in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, and Oaxaca (Singh and Wyss, 1976; Yamamoto etaL, 1984). It has been suggested that the great earthquake of June 19, 1858, which caused severe damage to inland towns in the state of Michoacfin, including its capital city of Morelia, and to M~ xico Ci~ may also have been an intermediate-depth, normal-faulting event (Singh et al., 1996). Such earthquakes (M> 6.5), which have occurred in the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Puebla, are shown in Figure 1 and are listed in Table 1.

On June 15, 1999 a large earthquake (mb 6.3; M, 6.5; M w 7.0) struck the same general area as the October 24, 1980 Huajuap~ in de L~ on earthquake. The closest important city to the epicenter is Tehuac~ in (Figure 2). The earthquake caused damage to adobe dwellings in the villages near the