Reviewed by USGSEl Salvador44y ago
M4.9 earthquake 47 km S of La Libertad, El Salvador
Monday, June 21, 1982, 05:30:28 UTC · 13.060°N, 89.328°W
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 47 km S of La Libertad, El Salvador on Monday, June 21, 1982, 05:30:28 UTC, at a depth of 61.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on June 19, 1982.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 61 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
91 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and Cocos plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
61 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 M5.1 on June 21, 1982. 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 231 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 · 124 km N of this epicenter
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 217 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 253 km N of this epicenter
- 7.318 km SSW of La Libertad, El SalvadorJune 19, 1982 · 31 km N of this epicenter
- 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 234 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 224 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1113 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorFebruary 8, 1926 · 103 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.112 km S of Conchagua, El SalvadorMay 21, 1932 · 159 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 59 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,693 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 253 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 220 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 209 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1951M6.5
Jucuapa
6 May 1951 · 166 km away
1,100 deaths$23 million damage
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 83 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 68 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.