Reviewed by USGSEl Salvador25y ago
M3.5 earthquake 22 km SSE of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador
Sunday, September 9, 2001, 13:21:16 UTC · 13.097°N, 88.468°W
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 22 km SSE of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador on Sunday, September 9, 2001, 13:21:16 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.5
- Minor · 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
3 tons of TNT
That is about 1/5,615 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 178 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
131 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: 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on September 18, 2001. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.847 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador25y ago · 36 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.523 km SSW of Jucuarán, El Salvador25y ago · 18 km E of this epicenter
- 5.539 km SW of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador25y ago · 34 km W of this epicenter
- 4.248 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador25y ago · 35 km SW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 463 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 · 128 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.783 km SSW of Corinto, NicaraguaSeptember 2, 1992 · 194 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.728 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorJanuary 13, 2001 · 21 km W of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 257 km N of this epicenter
- 7.318 km SSW of La Libertad, El SalvadorJune 19, 1982 · 103 km W of this epicenter
- 7.27 km SW of El Viejo, NicaraguaMarch 28, 1921 · 146 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 173 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1113 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorFebruary 8, 1926 · 97 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 · 257 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1972M6.2
Managua
23 Dec 1972 · 268 km away
10,000 deaths$3.0 billion damage
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 284 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 · 292 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 107 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.