Reviewed by USGSEl Salvador25y ago
M3.7 earthquake 17 km SSE of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador
Tuesday, May 8, 2001, 05:24:00 UTC · 13.147°N, 88.470°W
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 17 km SSE of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador on Tuesday, May 8, 2001, 05:24:00 UTC, at a depth of 106.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.7
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 107 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
5 tons of TNT
That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
136 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and Cocos plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
107 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 lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on May 8, 2001. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.214 km ESE of Zacatecoluca, El Salvador25y ago · 44 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.28 km SE of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador25y ago · 10 km N of this epicenter
- 4.337 km S of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador25y ago · 25 km S of this epicenter
- 4.14 km E of San Agustín, El Salvador25y ago · 33 km N of this epicenter
- 4.413 km NNW of San Agustín, El Salvador25y ago · 48 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 454 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.712 km NW of Chalatenango, El SalvadorSeptember 7, 1915 · 123 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.783 km SSW of Corinto, NicaraguaSeptember 2, 1992 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.728 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorJanuary 13, 2001 · 23 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 251 km N of this epicenter
- 7.318 km SSW of La Libertad, El SalvadorJune 19, 1982 · 101 km W of this epicenter
- 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 148 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 178 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1113 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorFebruary 8, 1926 · 102 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 71 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 48,559 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 251 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1972M6.2
Managua
23 Dec 1972 · 270 km away
10,000 deaths$3.0 billion damage
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 281 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1931M5.6
Managua
31 Mar 1931 · 300 km away
2,450 deaths$15 million damage
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 289 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 103 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.