Reviewed by USGSMexico63y ago
M7.3 earthquake 10 km SW of Villa Nicolás Bravo, Mexico
Monday, July 6, 1964, 07:22:13 UTC · 18.136°N, 100.605°W
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 10 km SW of Villa Nicolás Bravo, Mexico on Monday, July 6, 1964, 07:22:13 UTC, at a depth of 93.3 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on July 28, 1957.
- Magnitude
- 7.3
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 93 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 earthquakeColoured 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 83 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,630 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
161 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
93 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 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 59 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.621 km ESE of Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, MexicoApril 15, 1941 · 259 km W of this epicenter
- 7.68 km ENE of Apantla, MexicoJuly 28, 1957 · 200 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.619 km W of Arteaga, MexicoJune 7, 1911 · 199 km W of this epicenter
- 7.525 km S of Tetitlán, MexicoDecember 16, 1911 · 134 km S of this epicenter
- 7.527 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 30, 1909 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.56 km S of Copala, MexicoMarch 26, 1908 · 247 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.43 km W of Huixtepec, MexicoDecember 23, 1937 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.418 km SSW of Palos Blancos, MexicoFebruary 22, 1943 · 115 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 52 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 494 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1912M6.7
Central, Acambay, Tixmadeje
19 Nov 1912 · 176 km away
202 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1941M7.6
Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco
15 Apr 1941 · 259 km away · intensity VII
84 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1964M7.3
Guerrero
6 Jul 1964 · 0 km away
78 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1957M7.9
Acapulco,Mexico City
28 Jul 1957 · 242 km away · intensity VII
65 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1864M7.0
Puebla,Veracruz,Acultzingo,Acatzingo
3 Oct 1864 · 89 km away
20 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1787M8.6
San Marcos, Oaxaca
28 Mar 1787 · 288 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.