M5.5 earthquake off the coast of Michoacan, Mexico

Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 17:13:07 UTC · 15.245°N, 104.358°W

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Michoacan, Mexico on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 17:13:07 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on May 20, 2017.

Magnitude: 5.5; Moderate · mww
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 1; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
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

3 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

34 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

10 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Coahuayana, Michoacán, Mexico	III · Weak	1	392 km

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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

Nearby trackers