Moderate mag. 5.0 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 70 km southwest of Usulutan, El Salvador, on Friday, 15 Jan 2021 11:09 am (GMT -6) -
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Moderate magnitude 5.0 earthquake at 30 km depth
15 Jan 17:14 UTC: First to report: INETER after 5 minutes.
15 Jan 17:42: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.0. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 29.0 to 30.0 km (from 18 to 18.6 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.6 km (1.6 mi) towards ESE.
15 Jan 17:42: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.0. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 29.0 to 30.0 km (from 18 to 18.6 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.6 km (1.6 mi) towards ESE.
Update Fri, 15 Jan 2021, 17:18
Significant earthquake of magnitude 5.2 just reported 70 km southwest of Usulutan, El Salvador5.2 quake 15 Jan 11:09 am (GMT -6)
Just 9 minutes ago, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Usulutan, Departamento de Usulutan, El Salvador. The tremor was recorded in the morning on Friday 15 January 2021 at 11:09 am local time, at a shallow depth of 29 km below the surface.
The event was filed by the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), the first seismological agency to report it.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Puerto El Triunfo (pop. 19,100) located 58 km from the epicenter, Jiquilisco (pop. 9,100) 59 km away, Usulutan (pop. 51,900) 70 km away, Santa Elena (pop. 5,900) 75 km away, El Transito (pop. 9,500) 78 km away, Jucuaran (pop. 1,600) 80 km away, San Rafael Oriente (pop. 19,100) 80 km away, Santiago de Maria (pop. 15,000) 81 km away, La Libertad (pop. 16,900) 85 km away, and San Salvador (pop. 526,000) 98 km away.
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.
The event was filed by the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), the first seismological agency to report it.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Puerto El Triunfo (pop. 19,100) located 58 km from the epicenter, Jiquilisco (pop. 9,100) 59 km away, Usulutan (pop. 51,900) 70 km away, Santa Elena (pop. 5,900) 75 km away, El Transito (pop. 9,500) 78 km away, Jucuaran (pop. 1,600) 80 km away, San Rafael Oriente (pop. 19,100) 80 km away, Santiago de Maria (pop. 15,000) 81 km away, La Libertad (pop. 16,900) 85 km away, and San Salvador (pop. 526,000) 98 km away.
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: 15 Jan 2021 17:09:05 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Friday, 15 Jan 2021 11:09 am (GMT -6)
Magnitude: 5
Depth: 30.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 12.85°N / 88.844°W

Nearest volcano: Taburete (73 km / 45 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
58 km (36 mi) SSW of Puerto El Triunfo (pop: 19,100) --> See nearby quakes!
70 km (44 mi) SW of Usulutan (pop: 51,900) --> See nearby quakes!
87 km (54 mi) S of San Vicente (pop: 41,500) --> See nearby quakes!
97 km (60 mi) S of Cojutepeque (pop: 48,400) --> See nearby quakes!
97 km (61 mi) SSE of San Marcos (pop: 54,600) --> See nearby quakes!
100 km (62 mi) SSE of San Salvador (pop: 526,000) --> See nearby quakes!
101 km (63 mi) SSE of Soyapango (pop: 329,700) --> See nearby quakes!
115 km (72 mi) S of Sensuntepeque (pop: 20,400) --> See nearby quakes!
224 km (139 mi) SW of Tegucigalpa (Honduras) (pop: 850,800) --> See nearby quakes!
269 km (167 mi) SE of Guatemala City (Guatemala) (pop: 994,900) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Few Clouds
31°C (88 F), humidity: 55%, wind: 2 m/s (3 kts)
Primary data source: INETERFew Clouds

Estimated released energy: 2 x 1012 joules (554 megawatt hours, equivalent to 477 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 5.0 | 30 km | 45 Km Al Sur De Delta Del Rio Lempa, El Salvador | INETER |
M 4.5 | 73 km | OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR | EMSC |
M 4.5 | 73 km | Off the Coast of Central America, El Salvador | USGS |
M 4.6 | 85 km | Off Coast of Central America, El Salvador | GFZ |
User reports for this quake (6)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Contribute:
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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!
santiago de maria, usulutan / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s : someone moving my house from the deep earth | One user found this interesting.
255.6 km NW of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) (reported through our app)
100.9 km NNW of epicenter [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 20-30 s (reported through our app)
98.9 km NNW of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app)
Boca Raton, FL / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating
Boca Raton, FL / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating
Aftershocks
More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (18 quakes):- 03 Mar 2021 05:45 UTC| M 3.1 |26 km (16.2 mi) depth|9 km (6 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 01 Mar 2021 10:22 UTC| M 2.9 |27 km (16.8 mi) depth|15 km (9 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 26 Feb 2021 05:06 UTC| M 3.0 |34 km (21.1 mi) depth|7 km (4 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 24 Feb 2021 03:56 UTC| M 2.5 |36 km (22.4 mi) depth|13 km (8 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 24 Feb 2021 03:05 UTC| M 2.7 |33 km (20.5 mi) depth|18 km (11 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 22 Feb 2021 11:22 UTC| M 2.9 |38 km (23.6 mi) depth|9 km (6 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 10 Feb 2021 03:05 UTC| M 2.6 |38 km (23.6 mi) depth|16 km (10 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 09 Feb 2021 05:21 UTC| M 3.0 |30 km (18.6 mi) depth|19 km (12 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 07 Feb 2021 12:09 UTC| M 3.2 |28 km (17.4 mi) depth|19 km (12 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 06 Feb 2021 21:24 UTC| M 3.5 |23 km (14.3 mi) depth|11 km (7 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 06 Feb 2021 20:20 UTC| M 3.9 |37 km (23 mi) depth|10 km (6 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 06 Feb 2021 07:22 UTC| M 2.9 |29 km (18 mi) depth|18 km (11 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 03 Feb 2021 00:42 UTC| M 3.6 |35 km (21.7 mi) depth|17 km (11 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 27 Jan 2021 03:14 UTC| M 3.4 |34 km (21.1 mi) depth|14 km (8 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 21 Jan 2021 06:03 UTC| M 2.8 |29 km (18 mi) depth|7 km (4 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 20 Jan 2021 04:10 UTC| M 3.5 |28 km (17.4 mi) depth|18 km (11 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 20 Jan 2021 01:45 UTC| M 3.0 |26 km (16.2 mi) depth|4 km (3 mi) distance| INETER | Details
- 17 Jan 2021 02:59 UTC| M 2.7 |34 km (21.1 mi) depth|12 km (8 mi) distance| INETER | Details
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|30km / 19mi| North Pacific Ocean, 91 km SE of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 02 Sep 1992 00:16| 7.7 |45km / 28mi|29 years ago|205km / 127mi| North Pacific Ocean, 92 km SW of Leon, Nicaragua
- 27 Aug 2012 04:37| 7.3 |20km / 13mi|9 years ago|72km / 45mi| North Pacific Ocean, 173 km SE of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 27 Aug 2012 04:37| 7.3 |28km / 17mi|9 years ago|84km / 52mi| North Pacific Ocean, 184 km S of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 19 Jun 1982 06:21| 7.3 |73km / 45mi|39 years ago|80km / 49mi| North Pacific Ocean, 45 km SW of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 28 Mar 1921 07:49| 7.3 |15km / 9.3mi|100 years ago|209km / 130mi| Departamento de El Paraiso, 39 km N of Choluteca, Honduras
- 14 Oct 2014 03:51| 7.2 |43km / 27mi|6 years ago|90km / 56mi| North Pacific Ocean, 66 km W of Jiquilillo, Nicaragua
- 08 Feb 1926 15:18| 7.2 |20km / 12.4mi|95 years ago|64km / 40mi| North Pacific Ocean, 119 km S of Usulutan, El Salvador
- 27 Feb 1916 20:21| 7.2 |15km / 9.3mi|105 years ago|173km / 107mi| North Pacific Ocean, 137 km SW of Corinto, Departamento de Chinandega, Nicaragua
- 21 May 1932 10:10| 7.1 |15km / 9.3mi|89 years ago|91km / 57mi| Departamento de La Union, 9 km SE of Chirilagua, El Salvador
Hint: Click on Date/Time to show latest first
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