Seismic hazard in Santander

Aa, Av, Ae and Ad for its 87 municipalities under the NSR-10.

Photo: Josué Isaí Ramos Figueroa / Unsplash

According to Appendix A-4 of the NSR-10, of the 87 municipalities of Santander, 43 in the high hazard zone and 44 in the intermediate hazard zone. The capital, Bucaramanga, has Aa = 0.25 and Av = 0.25, high hazard. Across the department, Aa ranges from 0.15 to 0.25 and Av from 0.15 to 0.25.

Municipalities: 87
Capital: Bucaramanga
Aa / Av of the capital: 0.25 / 0.25
High hazard: 43
Intermediate hazard: 44
Low hazard: 0

Municipalities of Santander

Values from Appendix A-4 of the NSR-10. Tap a municipality to open its design spectrum.

Source: NSR-10, Title A, Appendix A-4. Zone according to A.2.3.
Municipality	Code	Aa	Av	Zone	Ae	Ad
Bucaramanga	68001	0.25	0.25	High	0.15	0.09
Aguada	68013	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.17	0.09
Albania	68020	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.09	0.06
Aratoca	68051	0.25	0.25	High	0.11	0.07
Barbosa	68077	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.09	0.06
Barichara	68079	0.20	0.25	High	0.13	0.08
Barrancabermeja	68081	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.06	0.04
Betulia	68092	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.13	0.09
Bolívar	68101	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.07	0.04
Cabrera	68121	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.13	0.08
California	68132	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Capitanejo	68147	0.25	0.25	High	0.11	0.06
Carcasi	68152	0.25	0.25	High	0.12	0.06
Cepitá	68160	0.25	0.25	High	0.11	0.06
Cerrito	68162	0.25	0.25	High	0.11	0.06
Charalá	68167	0.20	0.25	High	0.08	0.05
Charta	68169	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.06
Chima	68176	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.20	0.10
Chipatá	68179	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.11	0.07
Cimitarra	68190	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.06	0.04
Concepción	68207	0.25	0.25	High	0.12	0.06
Confines	68209	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.09	0.06
Contratación	68211	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.20	0.10
Coromoro	68217	0.20	0.25	High	0.09	0.06
Curití	68229	0.20	0.25	High	0.10	0.06
El Carmen de Chucurí	68235	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.17	0.08
El Florian	68271	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.12	0.07
El Guacamayo	68245	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.18	0.10
El Peñón	68250	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.16	0.07
El Playón	68255	0.25	0.25	High	0.14	0.07
Encino	68264	0.20	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Enciso	68266	0.25	0.25	High	0.10	0.05
Floridablanca	68276	0.25	0.25	High	0.13	0.08
Galán	68296	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.20	0.10
Gámbita	68298	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.07	0.05
Goepsa	68327	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.09	0.06
Girón	68307	0.20	0.25	High	0.18	0.10
Guaca	68318	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Guadalupe	68320	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.16	0.09
Guapotá	68322	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.12	0.08
Guavatá	68324	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.10	0.06
Hato	68344	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.21	0.10
Jesús Maria	68368	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.10	0.06
Jordán	68370	0.20	0.25	High	0.10	0.07
La Belleza	68377	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.16	0.07
La Paz	68397	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.14	0.09
Landázuri	68385	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.10	0.06
Lebrija	68406	0.25	0.20	High	0.13	0.09
Los Santos	68418	0.20	0.25	High	0.11	0.08
Macaravita	68425	0.25	0.25	High	0.12	0.06
Málaga	68432	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Matanza	68444	0.25	0.25	High	0.10	0.06
Mogotes	68464	0.25	0.25	High	0.10	0.06
Molagavita	68468	0.25	0.25	High	0.10	0.06
Ocamonte	68498	0.20	0.25	High	0.08	0.05
Oiba	68500	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.09	0.06
Onzága	68502	0.25	0.25	High	0.13	0.07
Palmar	68522	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.15	0.09
Palmas del Socorro	68524	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.11	0.08
Páramo	68533	0.20	0.25	High	0.09	0.06
Piedecuesta	68547	0.25	0.25	High	0.11	0.07
Pinchote	68549	0.20	0.25	High	0.09	0.06
Puente Nacional	68572	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.08	0.05
Puerto Parra	68573	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.05	0.04
Puerto Wilches	68575	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.04	0.03
Rionegro	68615	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.07	0.04
Sabana de Torres	68655	0.20	0.15	Intermediate	0.06	0.04
San Andrés	68669	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
San Benito	68673	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.12	0.07
San Gil	68679	0.20	0.25	High	0.09	0.06
San Joaquín	68682	0.25	0.25	High	0.13	0.07
San José de Miranda	68684	0.25	0.25	High	0.10	0.05
San Miguel	68686	0.25	0.25	High	0.11	0.06
San Vicente de Chucurí	68689	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.16	0.08
Santa Bárbara	68705	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Santa Helena del Opón	68720	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.18	0.10
Simacota	68745	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.09	0.06
Socorro	68755	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.11	0.07
Suaita	68770	0.15	0.20	Intermediate	0.09	0.06
Sucre	68773	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.15	0.07
Suratá	68780	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Tona	68820	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Valle San José	68855	0.20	0.25	High	0.08	0.06
Vélez	68861	0.15	0.15	Intermediate	0.15	0.08
Vetas	68867	0.25	0.25	High	0.09	0.05
Villanueva	68872	0.20	0.25	High	0.11	0.07
Zapatoca	68895	0.20	0.20	Intermediate	0.20	0.10

What does it mean for design in Santander?

Municipalities in the high hazard zone. In reinforced concrete, the NSR-10 only accepts systems with special energy dissipation capacity (DES) in the high hazard zone, the most demanding detailing in the code: confinement of columns and joints, and strict drift control.

Municipalities in the intermediate hazard zone. In reinforced concrete, the intermediate hazard zone no longer allows minimum dissipation (DMI): the structure is designed with moderate (DMO) or special (DES) energy dissipation capacity, with more reinforcement detailing requirements.

The municipality's value is only the starting point: the soil profile sets the coefficients Fa and Fv, and the occupancy group sets the importance factor. Work out the full spectrum with the NSR-10 design spectrum, or look up another municipality in the seismic hazard tool.

What the code requires in Bucaramanga, with each city's soil and environment, is on its structural engineering page.

Frequently asked questions

What seismic hazard zone is Bucaramanga in?

In the high seismic hazard zone: Aa = 0.25 and Av = 0.25, according to Appendix A-4 of the NSR-10.

Which municipalities of Santander have the highest seismic hazard?

The department's highest coefficient, 0.25, is found in 43 municipalities, including Bucaramanga, Aratoca, Barichara, California, Capitanejo and Carcasi.

How many municipalities of Santander are in each seismic hazard zone?

Of 87 municipalities, 43 are in the high hazard zone, 44 in the intermediate zone and 0 in the low zone (NSR-10, Appendix A-4).

Last updated: October 6, 2026

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Seismic hazard in Santander

Municipalities of Santander

What does it mean for design in Santander?

Frequently asked questions

Other departments

Do you have a project in Santander?