Reviewed by USGSGuatemala12y ago
M4.5 earthquake 28 km WSW of Tiquisate, Guatemala
Thursday, January 2, 2014, 15:19:45 UTC · 14.157°N, 91.592°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 28 km WSW of Tiquisate, Guatemala on Thursday, January 2, 2014, 15:19:45 UTC, at a depth of 61.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on December 31, 2013.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 62 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 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
62 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 M4.8 on January 13, 2014. 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 659 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 · 279 km E of this epicenter
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 57 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km S of Champerico, GuatemalaNovember 7, 2012 · 38 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 109 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 115 km W of this epicenter
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 32,731 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 298 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 118 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 66 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 269 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 261 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 272 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.