Reviewed by USGSNicaragua34y ago
M4.6 earthquake 80 km SSW of Masachapa, Nicaragua
Thursday, October 1, 1992, 11:56:11 UTC · 11.108°N, 86.779°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 80 km SSW of Masachapa, Nicaragua on Thursday, October 1, 1992, 11:56:11 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on September 25, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
56 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
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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on October 1, 1992. 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 297 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.783 km SSW of Corinto, NicaraguaSeptember 2, 1992 · 93 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.64 km WNW of Atenas, Costa RicaDecember 21, 1939 · 287 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5Costa RicaOctober 5, 1950 · 202 km E of this epicenter
- 7.37 km SSE of Puntarenas, Costa RicaMarch 25, 1990 · 253 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.392 km SW of San Juan del Sur, NicaraguaDecember 30, 1907 · 57 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3204 km WSW of Sámara, Costa RicaFebruary 27, 1916 · 194 km S of this epicenter
- 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 174 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 42 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 14,761 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1972M6.2
Managua
23 Dec 1972 · 162 km away
10,000 deaths$3.0 billion damage
- 1931M5.6
Managua
31 Mar 1931 · 261 km away
2,450 deaths$15 million damage
- 1951M6.5
Jucuapa
6 May 1951 · 238 km away
1,100 deaths$23 million damage
- 1930
Managua
31 Mar 1930 · 127 km away
1,000 deaths$15 million damage
- 1992M7.6
Masachapa; Costa Rica
2 Sep 1992 · 100 km away
170 deaths$30 million damagetsunami
- 1973M6.5
Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito
14 Apr 1973 · 226 km away
26 deathsUnder $1 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.