Reviewed by USGS14y ago
M4.4 earthquake near the coast of Guatemala
Monday, December 3, 2012, 12:28:36 UTC · 13.503°N, 90.381°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck near the coast of Guatemala on Monday, December 3, 2012, 12:28:36 UTC, at a depth of 72.1 km (intermediate). USGS received 8 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 72 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 8
- Max intensity III
- 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
31 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Caribbean and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
72 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
8 people reported feeling this earthquake to USGS; a per-place breakdown is not available 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 659 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 · 164 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 93 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.728 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El SalvadorJanuary 13, 2001 · 193 km E of this epicenter
- 7.57 km N of Los Amates, GuatemalaFebruary 4, 1976 · 245 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km S of Champerico, GuatemalaNovember 7, 2012 · 172 km W of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 258 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 264 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 70 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 35,056 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.5
Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
4 Feb 1976 · 245 km away · intensity IX
23,000 deaths$2.1 billion damagetsunami
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 124 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 87 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 141 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
- 1951M6.5
Jucuapa
6 May 1951 · 285 km away
1,100 deaths$23 million damage
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 132 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.