Reviewed by USGSMexico13y ago
M4.1 earthquake 70 km WSW of Aquiles Serdán, Mexico
Saturday, February 16, 2013, 13:17:34 UTC · 14.609°N, 93.072°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 70 km WSW of Aquiles Serdán, Mexico on Saturday, February 16, 2013, 13:17:34 UTC, at a depth of 75.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · md
- Depth
- 76 km
- Intermediate
- 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
89 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: intermediate
76 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
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 M4.6 on February 21, 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 639 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 · 222 km E of this epicenter
- 7.433 km S of Champerico, GuatemalaNovember 7, 2012 · 144 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.34 km SSW of Puerto Madero, MexicoDecember 14, 1935 · 69 km E of this epicenter
- 7.334 km SW of Puerto Madero, MexicoApril 29, 1970 · 52 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2127 km SW of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), MexicoMarch 30, 1914 · 97 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,677 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1917M6.0
Guatemala City
26 Dec 1917 · 266 km away · intensity IX
2,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1902M7.5
Quezaltenango, San Marcos
19 Apr 1902 · 233 km away
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1982M3.5
Chiapas
28 Mar 1982 · 294 km away
1,879 deaths$3 million damage
- 1773
St. Jago
3 Jun 1773 · 255 km away
600 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1874M7.1
Antigua,Chimaltenango,Amatitlan
3 Sep 1874 · 256 km away · intensity VIII
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1773M7.5
Antigua
29 Jul 1773 · 255 km away · intensity VIII
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.