Moderate mag. 4.3 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 23 km northwest of Esmeraldas, Ecuador, on Friday, 15 Jan 2021 6:35 pm (GMT -5) -
Quake Data | Interactive map | User Reports | Earlier quakes in same area | Quakes in Ecuador| Provincia de Esmeraldas | Provincia de Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas | Provincia de Imbabura | Provincia de Pichincha | Provincia del Carchi | Provincia de Manabi
Moderate magnitude 4.3 earthquake at 12 km depth
15 Jan 23:44 UTC: First to report: IGEPN after 9 minutes.
Update Fri, 15 Jan 2021, 23:48
Light magnitude 4.3 quake hits 23 km northwest of Volcan Chimborazo, Ecuador early evening4.3 quake 15 Jan 6:35 pm (GMT -5)
A shallow magnitude 4.3 earthquake was reported early evening near Volcan Chimborazo, Cantón Esmeraldas, Provincia de Esmeraldas, Ecuador.
According to the Institute of Geophysics of the National Polytechnic School in Quito (IGEPN), the quake hit on Friday 15 January 2021 at 6:35 pm local time at a shallow depth of 12 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.3 earthquake as well.
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 Volcan Chimborazo (pop. 165,200) located 23 km from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Muisne (pop. 13,400) located 66 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.
According to the Institute of Geophysics of the National Polytechnic School in Quito (IGEPN), the quake hit on Friday 15 January 2021 at 6:35 pm local time at a shallow depth of 12 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.3 earthquake as well.
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 Volcan Chimborazo (pop. 165,200) located 23 km from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Muisne (pop. 13,400) located 66 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: 15 Jan 2021 23:35:26 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Friday, 15 Jan 2021 6:35 pm (GMT -5)
Magnitude: 4.3
Depth: 12.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 1.14°N / 79.75°W
(North Pacific Ocean, Ecuador)Nearest volcano: Chachimbiro (179 km / 111 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
23 km (14 mi) NNW of Esmeraldas (pop: 165,200) --> See nearby quakes!
66 km (41 mi) NNE of Muisne (pop: 13,400) --> See nearby quakes!
95 km (59 mi) NNW of Rosa Zarate (pop: 42,100) --> See nearby quakes!
103 km (64 mi) W of San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas (San Lorenzo) (pop: 20,200) --> See nearby quakes!
168 km (104 mi) NNW of Santo Domingo de los Colorados (pop: 200,400) --> See nearby quakes!
201 km (125 mi) WNW of Ibarra (pop: 133,000) --> See nearby quakes!
204 km (127 mi) NW of San Francisco de Quito (pop: 1,399,800) --> See nearby quakes!
229 km (142 mi) W of Tulcan (pop: 86,500) --> See nearby quakes!
256 km (159 mi) NNE of Portoviejo (pop: 170,300) --> See nearby quakes!
351 km (218 mi) NW of Puyo (Pastaza) (pop: 24,900) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Broken Clouds
25.2°C (77 F), humidity: 85%, wind: 6 m/s (12 kts) from WSW
Primary data source: IGEPN (Institute of Geophysics of the National Polytechnic School in Quito)Broken Clouds
25.2°C (77 F), humidity: 85%, wind: 6 m/s (12 kts) from WSWEstimated released energy: 1.8 x 1011 joules (49.4 megawatt hours, equivalent to 42.5 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 4.3 | 12 km | Near Coast of Ecuador, A 21.94km De Esmeraldas | IGEPN |
| M 4.3 | 12 km | NEAR COAST OF ECUADOR | EMSC |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it be the first to report it!
Earlier earthquakes in the same area
Click here to search our database for earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900!
