QuakeScout
Magnitude5.1

Reviewed by USGSEl Salvador44y ago

M5.1 earthquake 15 km SSW of El Rosario, El Salvador

Monday, July 26, 1982, 10:34:58 UTC · 13.365°N, 89.064°W

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 15 km SSW of El Rosario, El Salvador on Monday, July 26, 1982, 10:34:58 UTC, at a depth of 67.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on June 21, 1982.

Magnitude
5.1
Moderate · mb
Depth
67 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

674 tons of TNT

That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

133 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and Cocos plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

67 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 233 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.712 km NW of Chalatenango, El SalvadorSeptember 7, 1915 · 85 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 233 km W of this epicenter
  3. 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 218 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.318 km SSW of La Libertad, El SalvadorJune 19, 1982 · 35 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 217 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 231 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.1113 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorFebruary 8, 1926 · 123 km S of this epicenter
  8. 7.112 km S of Conchagua, El SalvadorMay 21, 1932 · 131 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 63 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,695 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1976M7.5

    Chimaltenango, Guatemala City

    4 Feb 1976 · 218 km away · intensity IX

    23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami

  2. 1917M6.0

    Guatemala City

    26 Dec 1917 · 215 km away · intensity IX

    2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  3. 1902M7.5

    Quezaltenango, San Marcos

    19 Apr 1902 · 221 km away

    2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1951M6.5

    Jucuapa

    6 May 1951 · 143 km away

    1,100 deaths$23 million damage

  5. 1854

    San Salvador

    14 Apr 1854 · 51 km away

    1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  6. 1873

    Santa Tomas, San Vicente

    4 Mar 1873 · 31 km away

    800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

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

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