Reviewed by USGSMexico48y ago
M5.4 earthquake 19 km NNE of Coyuquilla Norte, Mexico
Sunday, March 18, 1979, 20:12:31 UTC · 17.546°N, 100.991°W
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 19 km NNE of Coyuquilla Norte, Mexico on Sunday, March 18, 1979, 20:12:31 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on March 14, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · ms
- Depth
- 33 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: 75 km aftershock search area
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
84 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 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 lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on March 22, 1979. 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 126 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.621 km ESE of Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, MexicoApril 15, 1941 · 246 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.68 km ENE of Apantla, MexicoJuly 28, 1957 · 209 km E of this epicenter
- 7.619 km W of Arteaga, MexicoJune 7, 1911 · 181 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.612 km SSE of Vallecitos de Zaragoza, MexicoMarch 14, 1979 · 42 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.525 km S of Tetitlán, MexicoDecember 16, 1911 · 77 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.527 km SSE of San Andrés Playa Encantada (El Podrido), MexicoJuly 30, 1909 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.535 km SW of Aguililla, MexicoJanuary 30, 1973 · 236 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.56 km S of Copala, MexicoMarch 26, 1908 · 240 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 53 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 556 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1912M6.7
Central, Acambay, Tixmadeje
19 Nov 1912 · 253 km away
202 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1941M7.6
Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco
15 Apr 1941 · 246 km away · intensity VII
84 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1964M7.3
Guerrero
6 Jul 1964 · 77 km away
78 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1957M7.9
Acapulco,Mexico City
28 Jul 1957 · 232 km away · intensity VII
65 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1973M7.5
S, Farias, Tecoman
30 Jan 1973 · 236 km away
56 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1864M7.0
Puebla,Veracruz,Acultzingo,Acatzingo
3 Oct 1864 · 95 km away
20 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.