Reviewed by USGSMexico33y ago
M4.5 earthquake 128 km SSW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), Mexico
Friday, December 17, 1993, 06:08:43 UTC · 14.372°N, 93.605°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 128 km SSW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), Mexico on Friday, December 17, 1993, 06:08:43 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on December 12, 1993.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
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
37 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on January 9, 1994. 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 345 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 130 km E of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 108 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2127 km SW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), MexicoMarch 30, 1914 · 48 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.224 km W of Puerto Madero, MexicoSeptember 10, 1993 · 110 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 2,094 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 284 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1991M6.2
Guatemala City, Pachuta, Solola
18 Sep 1991 · 284 km away · intensity VI
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M7.5
Soloma
22 Jul 1816 · 259 km away · intensity IX
23 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1968M6.1
S Chiapas
25 Sep 1968 · 176 km away
20 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1978M4.5
Patzun
29 Jul 1978 · 283 km away
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1979M6.8
Guatemala
27 Oct 1979 · 300 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.