M5.1 earthquake 55 km SSE of Champerico, Guatemala

Friday, December 14, 2012, 04:58:48 UTC · 13.824°N, 91.725°W

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 55 km SSE of Champerico, Guatemala on Friday, December 14, 2012, 04:58:48 UTC, at a depth of 35.8 km (shallow). USGS received 4 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on December 14, 2012.

Magnitude: 5.1; Moderate · mb
Depth: 36 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 4; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

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

71 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

36 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

4 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 75 km

USGS lists 16 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on December 16, 2012. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 626 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 54 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9,411 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 149 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 81 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 281 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 273 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 281 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 140 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers