M4.0 earthquake 6 km SE of Champerico, Guatemala

Saturday, September 7, 2013, 01:08:04 UTC · 14.250°N, 91.875°W

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 6 km SE of Champerico, Guatemala on Saturday, September 7, 2013, 01:08:04 UTC, at a depth of 59.9 km (shallow). USGS received 5 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VI (strong).

Magnitude: 4.0; Light · mb
Depth: 60 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 5; Max intensity VI
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

15 tons of TNT

That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

110 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

60 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	95 km
Amatitlán, Guatemala, Guatemala	V · Moderate	1	149 km
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	V · Moderate	1	140 km
Chinautla, Guatemala, Guatemala	IV · Light	1	167 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 19 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 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 650 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 50 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,205 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 143 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 98 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 293 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 132 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1874M7.1
Antigua,Chimaltenango,Amatitlan
3 Sep 1874 · 130 km away · intensity VIII
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1902M7.0
El Salvador-Guatemala
26 Feb 1902 · 270 km away
185 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers