Reviewed by USGSMexico107y ago
M6.4 earthquake 7 km W of San Felipe Tejalápam, Mexico
Monday, April 19, 1920, 21:06:22 UTC · 17.101°N, 96.927°W
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 7 km W of San Felipe Tejalápam, Mexico on Monday, April 19, 1920, 21:06:22 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on December 29, 1917.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
67 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 140 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
193 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: shallow
35 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.82 km NW of Teojomulco, MexicoApril 15, 1907 · 65 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.527 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 30, 1909 · 286 km W of this epicenter
- 7.56 km S of Copala, MexicoMarch 26, 1908 · 228 km W of this epicenter
- 7.231 km S of San Francisco Cozoaltepec, MexicoDecember 29, 1917 · 175 km S of this epicenter
- 7.07 km N of Jesús Carranza, MexicoJune 2, 1916 · 208 km E of this epicenter
- 6.944 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 31, 1909 · 290 km W of this epicenter
- 6.699 km SE of Crucecita, MexicoNovember 21, 1916 · 271 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.54 km ESE of Santa María Jicaltepec, MexicoSeptember 24, 1910 · 141 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 701 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1920M7.8
Veracruz: Cozautlan, Puebla: Patlanala
3 Jan 1920 · 240 km away · intensity X
648 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1870M7.9
Oaxaca,Zanaguia,San Francisco Ozolotepec
11 May 1870 · 201 km away
24 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1787M8.6
San Marcos, Oaxaca
28 Mar 1787 · 180 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1882M7.5
Puebla,Huahuapan,Huamuxtitlan,Xalpatlahuac
19 Jul 1882 · 151 km away
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1801M7.0
Oaxaca
5 Oct 1801 · 133 km away
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1854M7.7
Veracruz,Oaxaca
5 May 1854 · 117 km away · intensity IX
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.