M4.3 earthquake 15 km SSE of Champerico, Guatemala

Saturday, September 7, 2013, 08:21:37 UTC · 14.170°N, 91.848°W

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 15 km SSE of Champerico, Guatemala on Saturday, September 7, 2013, 08:21:37 UTC, at a depth of 65.3 km (shallow). USGS received 5 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light).

Magnitude: 4.3; Light · mb
Depth: 65 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 5; Max intensity IV
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

43 tons of TNT

That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 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: shallow

65 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
Quetzaltenango, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala	IV · Light	1	104 km
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	142 km
San Juan la Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	106 km
San Pedro la Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	106 km
Mixco, Guatemala, Guatemala	II · Weak	1	158 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 14 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 647 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 52 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9,105 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 · 93 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 297 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 289 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 299 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 133 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers