Reviewed by USGSEl Salvador95y ago
M7.1 earthquake 12 km S of Conchagua, El Salvador
Saturday, May 21, 1932, 10:10:03 UTC · 13.198°N, 87.862°W
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 12 km S of Conchagua, El Salvador on Saturday, May 21, 1932, 10:10:03 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on February 8, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- 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
651 kilotons of TNT
That is about 43 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,365 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
94 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Burma plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 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 33 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.712 km NW of Chalatenango, El SalvadorSeptember 7, 1915 · 161 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 96 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 171 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1113 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorFebruary 8, 1926 · 143 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.015 km NNE of Telica, NicaraguaNovember 5, 1926 · 128 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.88 km NNW of Moyuta, GuatemalaJuly 14, 1930 · 262 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 35 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,797 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1931M5.6
Managua
31 Mar 1931 · 234 km away
2,450 deaths$15 million damage
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 159 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1930
Managua
31 Mar 1930 · 218 km away
1,000 deaths$15 million damage
- 1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 146 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1873
Salvador,San Vicente
11 Apr 1873 · 131 km away
300 deaths
- 1902M7.0
El Salvador-Guatemala
26 Feb 1902 · 180 km away
185 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.