Reviewed by USGSGuatemala51y ago
M5.4 earthquake 7 km W of Tecpán Guatemala, Guatemala
Saturday, March 13, 1976, 16:30:41 UTC · 14.767°N, 91.061°W
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 7 km W of Tecpán Guatemala, Guatemala on Saturday, March 13, 1976, 16:30:41 UTC, at a depth of 5.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on February 20, 1976.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 5 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
112 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
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 193 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 · 232 km E of this epicenter
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 101 km S of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 219 km E of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 148 km W of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 170 km W of this epicenter
- 7.21 km NNW of Champerico, GuatemalaOctober 23, 1950 · 105 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 41 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 31,164 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 219 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 53 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 86 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 228 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 243 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 43 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.