Reviewed by USGSGuatemala13y ago
M4.3 earthquake 90 km S of Champerico, Guatemala
Friday, December 21, 2012, 07:05:09 UTC · 13.477°N, 91.829°W
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 90 km S of Champerico, Guatemala on Friday, December 21, 2012, 07:05:09 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
32 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
35 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on December 31, 2012. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 609 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 84 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km S of Champerico, GuatemalaNovember 7, 2012 · 57 km N of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 150 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 139 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.318 km SSW of La Libertad, El SalvadorJune 19, 1982 · 265 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2127 km SW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), MexicoMarch 30, 1914 · 264 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.224 km W of Puerto Madero, MexicoSeptember 10, 1993 · 164 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 50 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9,101 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 182 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 107 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.4
San Salvador
10 Oct 1986 · 296 km away
1,100 deaths$1.5 billion damage
- 1854
San Salvador
14 Apr 1854 · 286 km away
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1873
Santa Tomas, San Vicente
4 Mar 1873 · 292 km away
800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 174 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.