Reviewed by USGSEl Salvador25y ago
M4.2 earthquake 8 km ESE of Apastepeque, El Salvador
Wednesday, May 9, 2001, 10:32:03 UTC · 13.634°N, 88.711°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 8 km ESE of Apastepeque, El Salvador on Wednesday, May 9, 2001, 10:32:03 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
165 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and North American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on May 15, 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 · 23 km S of this epicenter
- 4.015 km E of Apastepeque, El Salvador25y ago · 8 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.016 km NW of Berlín, El Salvador25y ago · 8 km E of this epicenter
- 4.48 km ESE of Apastepeque, El Salvador25y ago · 1 km N of this epicenter
- 4.14 km E of San Agustín, El Salvador25y ago · 28 km SE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 443 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 · 63 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.783 km SSW of Corinto, NicaraguaSeptember 2, 1992 · 258 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 266 km W of this epicenter
- 7.728 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorJanuary 13, 2001 · 65 km S of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 193 km N of this epicenter
- 7.318 km SSW of La Libertad, El SalvadorJune 19, 1982 · 80 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 198 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 238 km SE 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 35,157 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 193 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 230 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 250 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 49 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
- 1951M6.5
Jucuapa
6 May 1951 · 121 km away
1,100 deaths$23 million damage
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 56 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.