Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - 130 km south of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on 2020-10-29 13:01:23 -

Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - 130 km south of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on 2020-10-29 13:01:23

Moderate magnitude 5.0 earthquake at 22 km depth

29 Oct 19:07 UTC: First to report: INETER after 6 minutes.
29 Oct 19:14: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 29.0 to 23.0 km (from 18 to 14.3 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 13.3 km (8.3 mi) towards SSW.
29 Oct 19:28: Magnitude recalculated from 5.1 to 5.3. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 23.0 to 22.0 km (from 14.3 to 13.7 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1.1 km (0.7 mi) towards NNW.
29 Oct 19:35: Magnitude recalculated from 5.3 to 5.0. Epicenter location corrected by 1.3 km (0.8 mi) towards N.
Update Thu, 29 Oct 2020, 19:57
Significant earthquake of magnitude 5.0 reported 119 km southeast of Villa Nueva, Guatemala
5.0 quake: 39 Km Al Sur De Las Brisas, Guatemala, 29 Oct 2020 19:01
5.0 quake: 39 Km Al Sur De Las Brisas, Guatemala, 29 Oct 2020 19:01
Guatemala was shaken near the town of Acajutla by an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 56 minutes ago, the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) reported. The quake hit at a shallow depth of 22 km beneath the epicenter around noon on Thursday 29 October 2020 at 1.01 pm local time. Magnitude and other quake parameters can still change in the coming hours as the agency continues to process seismic data.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) agency, which listed it as a magnitude 5.0 earthquake as well. A third agency, the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam (GFZ), reported the same quake at magnitude 4.7.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.
Towns or cities near the epicenter that are likely to be affected include Acajutla (pop. 22,800) at a distance of 60 km with light shaking, Iztapa (pop. 4,000) at a distance of 62 km with light shaking, Santa Ana (pop. 176,700) at a distance of 104 km with weak shaking, and Villa Nueva (pop. 406,800) at a distance of 119 km with weak shaking.
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.
Download the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic alerts online:
Android | IOS

Earthquake data:

Date & time: 29 Oct 2020 07:01:23 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: 2020-10-29 13:01:23
Magnitude: 5.0
Depth: 22.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 13.481°N / 90.368°W (Guatemala)
Nearest volcano: Moyuta (57 km / 35 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
62 km (39 mi) SE of Iztapa (pop: 4,020)
67 km (42 mi) S of Chiquimulilla (pop: 12,800)
69 km (43 mi) SSW of Moyuta (pop: 8,150)
70 km (43 mi) SE of Puerto San José (Municipio de San José) (pop: 18,700)
92 km (57 mi) S of Barberena (pop: 30,500)
100 km (62 mi) SE of La Gomera (pop: 24,000)
130 km (81 mi) S of Guatemala City (pop: 994,900)
130 km (81 mi) SSE of Mixco (pop: 473,100)
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Broken Clouds 29°C (84 F), humidity: 74%, wind: 3 m/s (6 kts) from W
Primary data source: INETER
Estimated released energy: 2 x 1012 joules (554 megawatt hours, equivalent to 477 tons of TNT) More info
[smaller] [bigger]
If you felt this quake (or if you were near the epicenter), please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!
Also if you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable also to earthquake science and earthquake hazard analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device location or the map to indicate where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!

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.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 5.022 km- 55 km SW of San Francisco Menéndez, El SalvadorINETER
M 4.763 kmNear Coast of GuatemalaGFZ
M 4.679 km40 Km W of Acajutla, GuatemalaEMSC
M 4.654 km55 Km SW of San Francisco Menéndez, El Salvador, GuatemalaUSGS
M 4.654 km55 Km SW of San Francisco Menéndez, El Salvador, GuatemalaUSGS
M 4.654 km55 Km SW of San Francisco Menéndez, El Salvador, GuatemalaUSGS

User reports for this quake (13)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Contribute:
Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
Flag as inappropriate.
Mark as helpful or interesting.
Send your own user report!
Guatemala City / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : On the 11th floor of our apartment building I felt a little jerk and then the building swayed slightly for 5 or 10 seconds.
125.4 km N of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
129.1 km NNW of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s
ZONA 9 GUATEMALA, GUATEMALA (127.1 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging
131.9 km N of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app)
114.6 km N of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
120.7 km E of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
El Rodeo, Escuintla, Guatemala / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Windows, doors rattled for about 5 seconds
Guatemala City. zona 16 / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short
San Salvador, El Salvador / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 10-15 s
El Rodeo, Escuintla, Guatemala / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Windows, doors rattled for about 5 seconds
Guatemala / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / very short : Just a single jolt.
Ayutuxtepeque (El Salvador, 109 km E of epicenter) : Muy leve casi no se sentía, a menos de que uno se concentrara para sentir un temblor muy débil. (reported through EMSC)
Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top
to top

Aftershocks of the 5.0 quake 130 km south of Guatemala City, Guatemala, 2020-10-29 13:01:23

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (1 quakes):
  • 29 Oct 2020 22:34 UTC
    | M 3.4 |
    23 km (14.3 mi) depth
    |
    3 km (2 mi) distance
    | INETER | Details

to top

Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900

Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - 130 km south of Guatemala City, Guatemala, on 2020-10-29 13:01:23

Map of earlier quakes

Volcanoes & Earthquakes - new app for Android
to top

More on VolcanoDiscovery

Photo of the Week
Week 49: Mon 30 Nov - Sun 6 Dec, 2020
Photo of the Week
Vote for your favorite or submit photos
Gorely
Gorely volcano photos: Gorely is a young and very active shield volcano in southern Kamchatka. It is one of Kamchatka's easiest volcanoes to climb and offers stunning views into vast craters and the surrounding landscape.
Ibu
Ibu volcano photos: Ibu in Halmahera is one of the most active, but rarely visited volcanoes in Indonesia. A spectacular lava dome is growing inside the volcano's breached crater, with frequent explosions.
Stromboli
Stromboli volcano photos: The lighthouse of the Thyrrhenian Sea - thanks to its typical, regular explosions that coined the term "strombolian activity", Stromboli is one of the most famous and photogenic volcanoes in the world.
 
Why is there advertising on this site?

Support us!

Maintaining the website and our free apps is a time- and cost-intensive effort.
If you find the information useful and would like to support our team to develop further features and get the upgraded ad-free version, consider making a donation (PayPal or Online cc payment).
Planned features:
  • Weather reports
  • Tsunami alerts
  • Design upgrades
Thanks to your past donations, these features have been added recently:
  • Earthquake archive back to 1900
  • Additional data sources
Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online:
Android | IOS
Thank you!
Copyrights: VolcanoDiscovery and other sources as noted.
Use of material: Most texts and images, in particular photographs, on this website are protected by copyright. Further reproduction and use of without authorization is usually not consented. If you are not sure or need licensing rights for photographs, for example for publications and commercial use, please contact us.