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Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 70 km southeast of San Jose, Guatemala, on 2020-10-29 13:01:23

Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 70 km southeast of San Jose, Guatemala, on 2020-10-29 13:01:23 Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 70 km southeast of San Jose, 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.

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Earthquake data

Earthquake details

Date & timeOct 29, 2020 19:01:23 UTC
Local time at epicenter2020-10-29 13:01:23
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude5
Depth22.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude13.481°N / 90.368°W (North Pacific Ocean, Guatemala)
Antipode13.481°S / 89.632°E
Shaking intensityLight shaking
Felt12 reports
Primary data sourceINETER
Nearest volcanoMoyuta (57 km / 35 mi)
Nearby towns and cities58 km (36 mi) SSW of Pasaco (pop: 1,870) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
60 km (37 mi) WSW of Acajutla (El Salvador) (pop: 22,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
70 km (43 mi) SE of San Jose (Municipio de San José) (pop: 18,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
81 km (50 mi) WSW of Izalco (El Salvador) (pop: 19,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
89 km (55 mi) S of Cuilapa (pop: 16,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
92 km (57 mi) S of Barberena (pop: 30,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
93 km (58 mi) SW of Chalchuapa (El Salvador) (pop: 32,300) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
100 km (62 mi) SE of La Gomera (pop: 24,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
102 km (63 mi) SSE of Escuintla (pop: 103,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
130 km (81 mi) S of Guatemala (pop: 994,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeBroken Clouds 29°C (84 F), humidity: 74%, wind: 3 m/s (6 kts) from W
Estimated seismic energy released2 x 1012 joules (554 megawatt hours, equivalent to 477 tons of TNT) | about seismic energy
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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.
Mag.DepthLocationSource
5.022 km- 55 km SW of San Francisco Menéndez, El SalvadorINETER
4.763 kmNear Coast of GuatemalaGFZ
4.679 km40 Km W of Acajutla, GuatemalaEMSC
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.
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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.  
Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala (125.4 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
Pastores, Departamento de Sacatepéquez (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
Mixco, Municipio de Mixco, Guatemala (131.9 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app)
Villa Canales, Guatemala (114.6 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
Santa Tecla, La Libertad (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)  
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Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (3 quakes)

Date and timeMag
Depth		LocationDetails
Dec 16, 2020 15:19
1 year 27 weeks ago
3.6

17 km		North Pacific Ocean, 59 km W of Acajutla, Departamento de Sonsonate, El SalvadorMore
Dec 6, 2020 20:12
1 year 29 weeks ago
3.2

23 km		North Pacific Ocean, 57 km SE of San Jose, GuatemalaMore
Oct 29, 2020 22:34
1 year 34 weeks ago
3.4

23 km		North Pacific Ocean, 67 km SE of San Jose, GuatemalaMore

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

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