Reviewed by USGSMexico13y ago
M4.1 earthquake 66 km SW of El Palmarcito, Mexico
Saturday, January 12, 2013, 02:17:37 UTC · 15.057°N, 93.635°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 66 km SW of El Palmarcito, Mexico on Saturday, January 12, 2013, 02:17:37 UTC, at a depth of 16.1 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · md
- Depth
- 16 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
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
103 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and North American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
16 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on January 12, 2013. 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 574 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 · 298 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.48 km ENE of Santiago Xanica, MexicoMarch 22, 1928 · 291 km W of this epicenter
- 7.44 km NW of Santa María Zapotitlán, MexicoAugust 23, 1965 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.433 km S of Champerico, GuatemalaNovember 7, 2012 · 222 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 135 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,061 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1982M3.5
Chiapas
28 Mar 1982 · 248 km away
1,879 deaths$3 million damage
- 2012M7.3
San Marcos, San Cristobal Cochu
7 Nov 2012 · 222 km away
48 deaths$210 million damagetsunami
- 1991M6.2
Guatemala City, Pachuta, Solola
18 Sep 1991 · 288 km away · intensity VI
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1870M7.9
Oaxaca,Zanaguia,San Francisco Ozolotepec
11 May 1870 · 288 km away
24 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1816M7.5
Soloma
22 Jul 1816 · 234 km away · intensity IX
23 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1968M6.1
S Chiapas
25 Sep 1968 · 131 km away
20 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.