Moderate mag. 4.2 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 88 km south of San Jose, Guatemala, on Saturday, 2 Jan 2021 5:15 pm (GMT -6) -
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 4.2 earthquake at 10 km depth
2 Jan 23:21 UTC: First to report: INETER after 6 minutes.
Update Sat, 2 Jan 2021, 23:27
Light magnitude 4.2 quake hits 88 km south of Puerto San José, Guatemala in the afternoon4.2 quake 2 Jan 5:15 pm (GMT -6)
A shallow magnitude 4.2 earthquake was reported in the afternoon near Puerto San José, Municipio de San José, Departamento de Escuintla, Guatemala.
According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), the quake hit on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 5:15 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. 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.
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 88 km from the epicenter, Iztapa (pop. 4,000) 91 km away, and La Gomera (pop. 24,000) 104 km away.
According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), the quake hit on Saturday 2 January 2021 at 5:15 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. 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.
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 88 km from the epicenter, Iztapa (pop. 4,000) 91 km away, and La Gomera (pop. 24,000) 104 km away.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 2 Jan 2021 23:15:05 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Saturday, 2 Jan 2021 5:15 pm (GMT -6)
Magnitude: 4.2
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 13.148°N / 90.96°W

Nearest volcano: Tecuamburro (127 km / 79 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
88 km (55 mi) S of San Jose (Municipio de San José) (pop: 18,700) --> See nearby quakes!
130 km (81 mi) S of Escuintla (pop: 103,200) --> See nearby quakes!
132 km (82 mi) S of Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa (pop: 62,100) --> See nearby quakes!
155 km (97 mi) SSW of Villa Canales (pop: 122,200) --> See nearby quakes!
157 km (97 mi) SSW of Petapa (pop: 141,500) --> See nearby quakes!
169 km (105 mi) S of Chimaltenango (pop: 82,400) --> See nearby quakes!
169 km (105 mi) SSW of Mixco (pop: 473,100) --> See nearby quakes!
173 km (107 mi) SSW of Guatemala City (pop: 994,900) --> See nearby quakes!
197 km (122 mi) SSE of Quetzaltenango (pop: 132,200) --> See nearby quakes!
201 km (125 mi) WSW of San Salvador (El Salvador) (pop: 526,000) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Clear Sky
27.8°C (82 F), humidity: 71%, wind: 3 m/s (6 kts) from W
Primary data source: INETERClear Sky

Estimated released energy: 1.3 x 1011 joules (35 megawatt hours, equivalent to 30.1 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 4.2 | 10 km | - 88 km SSW of Puerto San José, Guatemala | INETER |
M 4.2 | 10 km | OFFSHORE GUATEMALA | EMSC |
M 4.2 | 10 km | 88 Km SSW of Puerto San José, Guatemala | USGS |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
be the first to report it!
There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it Earlier earthquakes in the same area
Click here to search our database for earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900!