M7.5 earthquake 7 km N of Los Amates, Guatemala

Wednesday, February 4, 1976, 09:01:43 UTC · 15.324°N, 89.101°W

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 7 km N of Los Amates, Guatemala on Wednesday, February 4, 1976, 09:01:43 UTC, at a depth of 5.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on August 6, 1942.

Magnitude: 7.5; Major · mw
Depth: 5 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: IX; Violent (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 178 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

9 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

5 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 200 km

USGS lists 16 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on February 6, 1976. 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 105 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 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,649 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 0 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 180 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 252 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1951M6.5
Jucuapa
6 May 1951 · 294 km away
1,100 deaths$23 million damage
1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 170 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 187 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

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

Nearby trackers