QuakeScout
Magnitude4.1

Reviewed by USGSMexico13y ago

M4.1 earthquake 82 km SW of El Arenal, Mexico

Saturday, February 9, 2013, 16:29:01 UTC · 14.718°N, 93.304°W

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 82 km SW of El Arenal, Mexico on Saturday, February 9, 2013, 16:29:01 UTC, at a depth of 6.3 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.1
Light · md
Depth
6 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

86 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

6 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 M4.1 on February 24, 2013. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.1
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.192 km SW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), Mexico13y ago · 48 km W of this epicenter
  2. 4.077 km WSW of Puerto Madero, Mexico13y ago · 49 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 4.170 km WSW of Aquiles Serdán, Mexico13y ago · 28 km SE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 612 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.726 km SSW of La Gomera, GuatemalaAugust 6, 1942 · 250 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.433 km S of Champerico, GuatemalaNovember 7, 2012 · 172 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 93 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 79 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.2127 km SW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), MexicoMarch 30, 1914 · 73 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 34 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,672 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1917M6.0

    Guatemala City

    26 Dec 1917 · 291 km away · intensity IX

    2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  2. 1902M7.5

    Quezaltenango, San Marcos

    19 Apr 1902 · 261 km away

    2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1982M3.5

    Chiapas

    28 Mar 1982 · 282 km away

    1,879 deaths$3 million damage

  4. 1773

    St. Jago

    3 Jun 1773 · 280 km away

    600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  5. 1874M7.1

    Antigua,Chimaltenango,Amatitlan

    3 Sep 1874 · 281 km away · intensity VIII

    300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1773M7.5

    Antigua

    29 Jul 1773 · 280 km away · intensity VIII

    100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages