Moderate mag. 4.7 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 150 km south of Escuintla, Guatemala, on Monday, 28 Dec 2020 9:54 pm (GMT -6) -
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Moderate magnitude 4.7 earthquake at 19 km depth
29 Dec 04:00 UTC: First to report: INETER after 6 minutes.
29 Dec 04:07: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 15.0 to 19.0 km (from 9.3 to 11.8 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.3 km (1.5 mi) towards WNW.
29 Dec 04:07: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 15.0 to 19.0 km (from 9.3 to 11.8 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.3 km (1.5 mi) towards WNW.
Update Tue, 29 Dec 2020, 04:06
Light magnitude 4.7 quake hits 109 km south of Puerto San José, Guatemala in the evening4.7 quake 28 Dec 9:54 pm (GMT -6)
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake near Puerto San José, Municipio de San José, Departamento de Escuintla, Guatemala, was reported only 12 minutes ago by the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), considered the main national agency that monitors seismic activity in this part of the world. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 15 km beneath the epicenter in the evening on Monday 28 December 2020 at 9:54 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.7 earthquake as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include United States Geological Survey (USGS) at magnitude 4.6, and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 4.8.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Puerto San José (pop. 18,700) located 109 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.7 earthquake as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include United States Geological Survey (USGS) at magnitude 4.6, and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 4.8.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Puerto San José (pop. 18,700) located 109 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. 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: 29 Dec 2020 03:54:35 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Monday, 28 Dec 2020 9:54 pm (GMT -6)
Magnitude: 4.7
Depth: 19.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 12.961°N / 90.975°W

Nearest volcano: Tecuamburro (146 km / 91 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
109 km (68 mi) S of San Jose (Municipio de San José) (pop: 18,700) --> See nearby quakes!
150 km (93 mi) S of Escuintla (pop: 103,200) --> See nearby quakes!
153 km (95 mi) S of Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa (pop: 62,100) --> See nearby quakes!
176 km (109 mi) SSW of Villa Canales (pop: 122,200) --> See nearby quakes!
177 km (110 mi) SSW of Petapa (pop: 141,500) --> See nearby quakes!
179 km (111 mi) SSW of Villa Nueva (pop: 406,800) --> See nearby quakes!
190 km (118 mi) S of Chimaltenango (pop: 82,400) --> See nearby quakes!
190 km (118 mi) SSW of Mixco (pop: 473,100) --> See nearby quakes!
193 km (120 mi) SSW of Guatemala City (pop: 994,900) --> See nearby quakes!
210 km (130 mi) WSW of San Salvador (El Salvador) (pop: 526,000) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Clear Sky
27.1°C (81 F), humidity: 58%, wind: 2 m/s (4 kts) from NW
Primary data source: INETERClear Sky

Estimated released energy: 7.1 x 1011 joules (197 megawatt hours, equivalent to 169 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 4.7 | 19 km | 109 Km Al Sur De Sipacate, Guatemala | INETER |
M 4.8 | 10 km | Near Coast of Guatemala | GFZ |
M 4.6 | 47 km | 77 Km S of Puerto San José, Guatemala | USGS |
M 4.6 | 40 km | OFFSHORE GUATEMALA | EMSC |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 06 Aug 1942 23:37| 7.7 |35km / 22mi|79 years ago|102km / 63mi| North Pacific Ocean, 26 km S of La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
- 19 Apr 1902 02:23| 7.5 |unknown|119 years ago|116km / 72mi| 10.8 km SE of La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
- 07 Nov 2012 16:35| 7.4 |24km / 15mi|8 years ago|156km / 97mi| North Pacific Ocean, 35 km S of Champerico, Guatemala
- 19 Jun 1982 06:21| 7.3 |73km / 45mi|39 years ago|177km / 110mi| North Pacific Ocean, 45 km SW of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 14 Dec 1935 22:05| 7.3 |35km / 22mi|85 years ago|247km / 153mi| Puerto Madero, 4.6 km E of Puerto Madero, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
- 23 Oct 1950 16:13| 7.2 |65km / 41mi|70 years ago|181km / 113mi| 1.9 km N of Champerico, Departamento de Retalhuleu, Guatemala
- 02 Dec 1983 03:09| 7.0 |67km / 42mi|37 years ago|160km / 99mi| North Pacific Ocean, 71 km S of Coatepeque, Guatemala
- 24 Jan 1929 20:36| 6.9 |15km / 9.3mi|92 years ago|38km / 24mi| North Pacific Ocean, 144 km S of Escuintla, Guatemala
- 22 Jun 2017 12:31| 6.8 |32km / 20mi|4 years ago|103km / 64mi| North Pacific Ocean, 12 km SE of San Jose, Guatemala
- 27 Oct 1979 14:35| 6.8 |58km / 36mi|41 years ago|98km / 61mi| North Pacific Ocean, 53 km S of Escuintla, Guatemala
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