M5.1 earthquake 26 km SW of Nueva Concepción, Guatemala

Friday, May 10, 2013, 20:49:27 UTC · 14.048°N, 91.486°W

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 26 km SW of Nueva Concepción, Guatemala on Friday, May 10, 2013, 20:49:27 UTC, at a depth of 65.6 km (shallow). USGS received 32 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on March 25, 2013.

Magnitude: 5.1; Moderate · mb
Depth: 66 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 32; Max intensity IV
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

674 tons of TNT

That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

102 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and North American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

66 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
Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala	III · Weak	10	136 km
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	IV · Light	4	118 km
Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala, Guatemala	III · Weak	3	137 km
Palín, Escuintla, Guatemala	IV · Light	2	114 km
San Marcos, San Marcos, Guatemala	IV · Light	1	125 km
Quetzaltenango, Quezaltenango, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	109 km
Jocotenango, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	120 km
Villa Canales, Guatemala, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	131 km
Villa Nueva, Guatemala, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	128 km
Magdalena Milpas Altas, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	122 km
San Bartolomé Milpas Altas, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	125 km
San Juan la Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala	III · Weak	1	100 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on May 12, 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 60 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,728 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 293 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 113 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 53 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 257 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 248 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 258 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

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

Nearby trackers