Reviewed by USGSMexico118y ago
M7.1 earthquake 66 km SSW of Nuxco, Mexico
Sunday, October 31, 1909, 10:23:21 UTC · 16.643°N, 100.966°W
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 66 km SSW of Nuxco, Mexico on Sunday, October 31, 1909, 10:23:21 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on July 30, 1909.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
607 kilotons of TNT
That is about 40 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,274 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
4 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.527 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 30, 1909 · 154 km E of this epicenter
- 7.56 km S of Copala, MexicoMarch 26, 1908 · 211 km E of this epicenter
- 7.215 km SSW of Colonia Luces en el Mar, MexicoMarch 27, 1908 · 98 km E of this epicenter
- 6.944 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 31, 1909 · 159 km E of this epicenter
- 6.711 km SSE of Hacienda de Cabañas, MexicoOctober 13, 1908 · 71 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 42 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.0
Puebla,Veracruz,Acultzingo,Acatzingo
3 Oct 1864 · 132 km away
20 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1787M8.6
San Marcos, Oaxaca
28 Mar 1787 · 263 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1907M8.3
Guerrero
15 Apr 1907 · 110 km away
8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1902M7.0
Guerrero
16 Jan 1902 · 171 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1852
S. Mexico
4 Dec 1852 · 110 km away
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1909M7.8
Acapulco
30 Jul 1909 · 125 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.