M7.3 earthquake 18 km SSW of La Libertad, El Salvador

Saturday, June 19, 1982, 06:21:58 UTC · 13.332°N, 89.387°W

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 18 km SSW of La Libertad, El Salvador on Saturday, June 19, 1982, 06:21:58 UTC, at a depth of 73.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on February 4, 1976.

Magnitude: 7.3; Major · mw
Depth: 73 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1.3 megatons of TNT

That is about 86 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,723 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

117 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and Cocos plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: intermediate

73 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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 lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on June 21, 1982. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 245 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 62 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,695 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 224 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 192 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 189 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1951M6.5
Jucuapa
6 May 1951 · 176 km away
1,100 deaths$23 million damage
1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 56 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 44 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers