Reviewed by USGSMexico18y ago
M5.1 earthquake off the coast of Jalisco, Mexico
Friday, September 26, 2008, 03:39:21 UTC · 17.751°N, 105.788°W
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Jalisco, Mexico on Friday, September 26, 2008, 03:39:21 UTC, at a depth of 13.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on September 24, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 14 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
16 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Rivera and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
14 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 186 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11932 Jalisco, Mexico EarthquakeJune 3, 1932 · 300 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.01995 Colima-Jalisco, Mexico EarthquakeOctober 9, 1995 · 221 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.87 km E of Los Tepames, MexicoJune 18, 1932 · 279 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.712 km NNE of La Central, MexicoJune 22, 1932 · 222 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.616 km SSW of Cuyutlán, MexicoJanuary 22, 2003 · 211 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0102 km SW of Barra de Navidad, MexicoNovember 30, 1934 · 97 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0Revilla Gigedo Islands regionDecember 17, 1905 · 300 km W 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 4,554 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1806M7.5
Jalisco,Oaxaca,Michoacan
25 Mar 1806 · 246 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1818M8.2
Morelos-Guerrero,Mexico City,Guadalajara
31 May 1818 · 246 km away · intensity X
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1932M8.1
Near Coast Of Jalisco
3 Jun 1932 · 286 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Central
22 Jun 1932 · 222 km away
75 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1995M8.0
Jalisco, Manzanillo, San Patricio Melaque
9 Oct 1995 · 221 km away
50 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2003M7.5
Villa De Alvarez, Colima, Tecoman, Jalisco
22 Jan 2003 · 211 km away · intensity VIII
29 deaths$116 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.