M4.9 earthquake 35 km SW of Tiquisate, Guatemala

Thursday, March 28, 2013, 02:53:08 UTC · 14.085°N, 91.617°W

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 35 km SW of Tiquisate, Guatemala on Thursday, March 28, 2013, 02:53:08 UTC, at a depth of 84.7 km (intermediate). USGS received 17 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of V (moderate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on March 25, 2013.

Magnitude: 4.9; Light · mb
Depth: 85 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 17; Max intensity V
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 tons of TNT

That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

102 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

85 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

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
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	III · Weak	5	137 km
Quetzaltenango, Quezaltenango, Guatemala	IV · Light	2	119 km
Amatitlán, Guatemala, Guatemala	III · Weak	2	142 km
Panajachel, Sololá, Guatemala	II · Weak	2	121 km
Cahabón, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala	V · Moderate	1	267 km
Champerico, Retalhuleu, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	93 km
Retalhuleu, Retalhuleu, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	98 km
El Palmar, Quezaltenango, Guatemala	II · Weak	1	105 km
San Bartolomé Milpas Altas, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	II · Weak	1	144 km
Atitlán, Sololá, Guatemala	II · Weak	1	112 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 PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 50 km

USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on April 11, 2013. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 646 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 58 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9,727 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 124 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 67 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 271 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 263 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 273 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 114 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers