M5.4 earthquake 19 km SSW of Champerico, Guatemala

Saturday, September 7, 2013, 00:20:39 UTC · 14.136°N, 91.997°W

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 19 km SSW of Champerico, Guatemala on Saturday, September 7, 2013, 00:20:39 UTC, at a depth of 51.8 km (shallow). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VI (strong). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on September 7, 2013.

Magnitude: 5.4; Moderate · mb
Depth: 52 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 6; Max intensity VI
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

96 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

52 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
Olintepeque, Quezaltenango, Guatemala	VI · Strong	1	105 km
Cahabón, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala	IV · Light	1	287 km
Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala	IV · Light	1	173 km
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	II · Weak	1	152 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 75 km

USGS lists 25 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on September 30, 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 645 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 43 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,152 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 159 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 109 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 149 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1874M7.1
Antigua,Chimaltenango,Amatitlan
3 Sep 1874 · 145 km away · intensity VIII
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1902M7.0
El Salvador-Guatemala
26 Feb 1902 · 279 km away
185 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1965M6.0
San Marcos
3 May 1965 · 300 km away · intensity VI
125 deaths$35 million damage

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

Nearby trackers