Moderate mag. 4.9 earthquake - 146 km south of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on 2020-10-20 15:37:15 -
Quake Data | Interactive map | User Reports | Earlier quakes in same area | Quakes in Guatemala | Quakes in El Salvador| Escuintla | Guatemala | Departamento de Chimaltenango | Departamento de Quetzaltenango | Departamento de San Salvador

Moderate magnitude 4.9 earthquake at 9 km depth
20 Oct 21:49 UTC: First to report: INETER after 12 minutes.
Update Tue, 20 Oct 2020, 21:55
Light magnitude 4.9 earthquake 145 km E of Guatemala City, GuatemalaAn earthquake of magnitude 4.9 occurred only 18 minutes ago, the INETER agency reported. The quake hit at a very shallow depth of 9 km (5.6 miles) beneath the epicenter at 2020-10-20 15:37:15 local time. The magnitude, exact epicenter location and depth could be revised within the next few minutes as the agency updates and refines its calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows etc.
Towns and cities near the epicenter that are likely to be affected include Puerto San José (pop. 18,700) in 60 km (37 miles) distance with light shaking expected, Iztapa (pop. 4,000) in 64 km (40 miles) distance, weak shaking expected, Mixco (pop. 473,100) in 142 km (88 miles) distance, weak shaking expected, Guatemala City (pop. 994,900) in 145 km (90 miles) distance, weak shaking expected.
This story will be updated soon by VolcanoDiscovery. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows etc.
Towns and cities near the epicenter that are likely to be affected include Puerto San José (pop. 18,700) in 60 km (37 miles) distance with light shaking expected, Iztapa (pop. 4,000) in 64 km (40 miles) distance, weak shaking expected, Mixco (pop. 473,100) in 142 km (88 miles) distance, weak shaking expected, Guatemala City (pop. 994,900) in 145 km (90 miles) distance, weak shaking expected.
This story will be updated soon by VolcanoDiscovery. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 20 Oct 2020 21:37:15 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: 2020-10-20 15:37:15
Magnitude: 4.9
Depth: 9.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 13.395°N / 90.932°W

Nearest volcano: Tecuamburro (101 km / 63 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
60 km (38 mi) S of San Jose (Municipio de San José) (pop: 18,700) --> See nearby quakes!
78 km (48 mi) S of La Gomera (pop: 24,000) --> See nearby quakes!
102 km (63 mi) S of Escuintla (pop: 103,200) --> See nearby quakes!
105 km (65 mi) S of Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa (pop: 62,100) --> See nearby quakes!
128 km (80 mi) SSW of Villa Canales (pop: 122,200) --> See nearby quakes!
141 km (88 mi) S of Chimaltenango (pop: 82,400) --> See nearby quakes!
142 km (88 mi) SSW of Mixco (pop: 473,100) --> See nearby quakes!
146 km (91 mi) SSW of Guatemala City (pop: 994,900) --> See nearby quakes!
172 km (107 mi) SSE of Quetzaltenango (pop: 132,200) --> See nearby quakes!
191 km (119 mi) W of San Salvador (El Salvador) (pop: 526,000) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Thunderstorm
31°C (88 F), humidity: 70%, wind: 3 m/s (6 kts) from SSW
Primary data source: INETERThunderstorm

Estimated released energy: 1.4 x 1012 joules (392 megawatt hours, equivalent to 338 tons of TNT) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
M 4.9 | 9 km | 64 Km Al Sur De Sipacate, Guatemala | INETER |
M 4.4 | 48 km | 32 Km S of Iztapa, Guatemala | USGS |
M 4.4 | 48 km | 33 Km SSE of Puerto San Jose, Guatemala | EMSC |
User reports for this quake (1)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
129.2 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V)
Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 13 Jan 2001 17:33| 7.7 |60km / 37mi|20 years ago|249km / 155mi| North Pacific Ocean, 91 km SE of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 06 Aug 1942 23:37| 7.7 |35km / 22mi|79 years ago|57km / 35mi| North Pacific Ocean, 26 km S of La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
- 19 Apr 1902 02:23| 7.5 |unknown|119 years ago|68km / 42mi| 10.8 km SE of La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
- 07 Nov 2012 16:35| 7.4 |24km / 15mi|8 years ago|130km / 81mi| North Pacific Ocean, 35 km S of Champerico, Guatemala
- 19 Jun 1982 06:21| 7.3 |73km / 45mi|39 years ago|167km / 104mi| North Pacific Ocean, 45 km SW of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 29 Apr 1970 14:01| 7.3 |35km / 22mi|51 years ago|224km / 139mi| North Pacific Ocean, 60 km SW of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
- 14 Dec 1935 22:05| 7.3 |35km / 22mi|85 years ago|214km / 133mi| Puerto Madero, 4.6 km E of Puerto Madero, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
- 10 Sep 1993 19:12| 7.2 |34km / 21mi|27 years ago|236km / 147mi| North Pacific Ocean, 47 km SW of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
- 23 Oct 1950 16:13| 7.2 |65km / 41mi|70 years ago|147km / 91mi| 1.9 km N of Champerico, Departamento de Retalhuleu, Guatemala
- 02 Dec 1983 03:09| 7.0 |67km / 42mi|37 years ago|131km / 81mi| North Pacific Ocean, 71 km S of Coatepeque, Guatemala
Hint: Click on Date/Time to show latest first
Show all