Reviewed by USGSGuatemala13y ago
M4.4 earthquake 58 km SW of Puerto San José, Guatemala
Wednesday, November 20, 2013, 21:53:21 UTC · 13.528°N, 91.170°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 58 km SW of Puerto San José, Guatemala on Wednesday, November 20, 2013, 21:53:21 UTC, at a depth of 28.4 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 28 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
42 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
28 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
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on December 6, 2013. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 674 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.712 km NW of Chalatenango, El SalvadorSeptember 7, 1915 · 243 km E of this epicenter
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 37 km N of this epicenter
- 7.728 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorJanuary 13, 2001 · 277 km E of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km S of Champerico, GuatemalaNovember 7, 2012 · 94 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 188 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 188 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 65 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 33,972 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 299 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 134 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 56 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 224 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 215 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2001M7.7
El Salvador; Guatemala
13 Jan 2001 · 277 km away · intensity VIII
844 deaths$753 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.