Reviewed by USGSMexico37y ago
M4.8 earthquake 170 km SW of Barra de Navidad, Mexico
Tuesday, August 29, 1989, 12:17:48 UTC · 17.986°N, 105.665°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 170 km SW of Barra de Navidad, Mexico on Tuesday, August 29, 1989, 12:17:48 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on August 29, 1989.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
11 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Rivera and Cocos 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 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 124 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11932 Jalisco, Mexico EarthquakeJune 3, 1932 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.87 km E of Los Tepames, MexicoJune 18, 1932 · 254 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.712 km NNE of La Central, MexicoJune 22, 1932 · 194 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.621 km ESE of Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, MexicoApril 15, 1941 · 293 km E of this epicenter
- 7.535 km SW of Aguililla, MexicoJanuary 30, 1973 · 287 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0102 km SW of Barra de Navidad, MexicoNovember 30, 1934 · 68 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.041 km SSW of Aguililla, MexicoApril 30, 1986 · 288 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,615 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1806M7.5
Jalisco,Oaxaca,Michoacan
25 Mar 1806 · 221 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1818M8.2
Morelos-Guerrero,Mexico City,Guadalajara
31 May 1818 · 220 km away · intensity X
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1932M8.1
Near Coast Of Jalisco
3 Jun 1932 · 259 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1941M7.6
Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco
15 Apr 1941 · 293 km away · intensity VII
84 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1932M7.7
Central
22 Jun 1932 · 194 km away
75 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1973M7.5
S, Farias, Tecoman
30 Jan 1973 · 287 km away
56 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.