QuakeScout
Magnitude4.5

Reviewed by USGSNicaragua34y ago

M4.5 earthquake 59 km S of Masachapa, Nicaragua

Wednesday, November 4, 1992, 00:50:36 UTC · 11.245°N, 86.534°W

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 59 km S of Masachapa, Nicaragua on Wednesday, November 4, 1992, 00:50:36 UTC, at a depth of 81.4 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on November 1, 1992.

Magnitude
4.5
Light · mb
Depth
81 km
Intermediate
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

85 tons of TNT

That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

86 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: intermediate

81 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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

  1. 7.783 km SSW of Corinto, NicaraguaSeptember 2, 1992 · 104 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.64 km WNW of Atenas, Costa RicaDecember 21, 1939 · 271 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.5Costa RicaOctober 5, 1950 · 183 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.37 km SSE of Puntarenas, Costa RicaMarch 25, 1990 · 239 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.392 km SW of San Juan del Sur, NicaraguaDecember 30, 1907 · 63 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.3204 km WSW of Sámara, Costa RicaFebruary 27, 1916 · 218 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 169 km NW 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 14,763 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1972M6.2

    Managua

    23 Dec 1972 · 137 km away

    10,000 deaths$3.0 billion damage

  2. 1931M5.6

    Managua

    31 Mar 1931 · 236 km away

    2,450 deaths$15 million damage

  3. 1951M6.5

    Jucuapa

    6 May 1951 · 239 km away

    1,100 deaths$23 million damage

  4. 1930

    Managua

    31 Mar 1930 · 102 km away

    1,000 deaths$15 million damage

  5. 1992M7.6

    Masachapa; Costa Rica

    2 Sep 1992 · 121 km away

    170 deaths$30 million damagetsunami

  6. 1973M6.5

    Tilaran, Arenal, Rio Chiquito

    14 Apr 1973 · 204 km away

    26 deathsUnder $1 million damage

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

Nearby trackers

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