Reviewed by USGSPanama35y ago
M4.8 earthquake 2 km SSE of Bahía Azul, Panama
Thursday, May 2, 1991, 07:05:32 UTC · 9.126°N, 81.884°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 2 km SSE of Bahía Azul, Panama on Thursday, May 2, 1991, 07:05:32 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on April 29, 1991.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · md
- Depth
- 10 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
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
35 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Panama and Caribbean plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on May 15, 1991. 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 209 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.634 km S of Limón, Costa RicaApril 22, 1991 · 144 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.64 km WNW of Atenas, Costa RicaDecember 21, 1939 · 293 km W of this epicenter
- 7.544 km ESE of Burica, PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 158 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.570 km WSW of Golfito, Costa RicaDecember 5, 1941 · 218 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.353 km SSE of Quepos, Costa RicaDecember 20, 1904 · 238 km W of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 147 km S of this epicenter
- 7.259 km SSE of Burica, PanamaJuly 26, 1962 · 202 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.16 km WNW of Siquirres, Costa RicaApril 24, 1916 · 214 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 29 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 835 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1910M6.4
Cartago, San Jose
4 May 1910 · 252 km away
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1991M7.6
Limon, Pandora; Panama
22 Apr 1991 · 144 km away · intensity X
90 deaths$510 million damagetsunami
- 1952
Costa Rica
30 Dec 1952 · 220 km away
29 deaths
- 1941M7.6
Costa Rica-Panama
5 Dec 1941 · 152 km away · intensity IV
6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1983M7.5
Se, Panama: W
3 Apr 1983 · 142 km away
6 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1990M5.7
Alajuela, Santiago De Puriscal
22 Dec 1990 · 278 km away · intensity VIII
2 deaths$20 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.