Magnitude7.4

Reviewed by USGSMexico99y ago

M7.4 earthquake 40 km S of Corralero, Mexico

Saturday, August 4, 1928, 18:26:18 UTC · 15.877°N, 98.229°W

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 40 km S of Corralero, Mexico on Saturday, August 4, 1928, 18:26:18 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.0 on June 17, 1928.

Magnitude
7.4
Major · mw
Depth
20 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

1.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 110 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3,467 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

23 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

20 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 21 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 54 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 88 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1870M7.9

    Oaxaca,Zanaguia,San Francisco Ozolotepec

    11 May 1870 · 213 km away

    24 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1864M7.0

    Puebla,Veracruz,Acultzingo,Acatzingo

    3 Oct 1864 · 269 km away

    20 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  3. 1787M8.6

    San Marcos, Oaxaca

    28 Mar 1787 · 75 km away · intensity IX

    11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1907M8.3

    Guerrero

    15 Apr 1907 · 226 km away

    8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1882M7.5

    Puebla,Huahuapan,Huamuxtitlan,Xalpatlahuac

    19 Jul 1882 · 203 km away

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1801M7.0

    Oaxaca

    5 Oct 1801 · 230 km away

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages