Reviewed by USGSGuatemala44y ago
M4.7 earthquake 98 km SSW of Puerto San José, Guatemala
Monday, July 5, 1982, 16:14:46 UTC · 13.070°N, 91.054°W
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 98 km SSW of Puerto San José, Guatemala on Monday, July 5, 1982, 16:14:46 UTC, at a depth of 53.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on July 2, 1982.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 53 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
22 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
53 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 242 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 · 250 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 89 km N of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 234 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 229 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.318 km SSW of La Libertad, El SalvadorJune 19, 1982 · 183 km E of this epicenter
- 7.21 km NNW of Champerico, GuatemalaOctober 23, 1950 · 166 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1113 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorFebruary 8, 1926 · 259 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 46 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,611 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 177 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 104 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 216 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 218 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 174 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1936
San Vicente
19 Dec 1936 · 255 km away
400 deaths
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.