Moderate mag. 4.5 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 61 km southwest of Santa Tecla, El Salvador, on Sunday, 17 Jan 2021 10:04 pm (GMT -6) -
Quake Data | Interactive map | User Reports | Earlier quakes in same area | Quakes in El Salvador | Quakes in Guatemala| Departamento de La Libertad | Departamento de Sonsonate | Departamento de San Salvador | Departamento de Santa Ana | Guatemala

Moderate magnitude 4.5 earthquake at 32 km depth
18 Jan 04:07 UTC: First to report: INETER after 3 minutes.
18 Jan 04:14: Magnitude recalculated from 4.7 to 4.5. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 27.0 to 32.0 km (from 16.8 to 19.9 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.7 km (1.7 mi) towards NE.
18 Jan 04:14: Magnitude recalculated from 4.7 to 4.5. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 27.0 to 32.0 km (from 16.8 to 19.9 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.7 km (1.7 mi) towards NE.
Update Mon, 18 Jan 2021, 04:12
Light magnitude 4.7 quake hits 64 km southwest of Santa Tecla, El Salvador late at night4.7 quake 17 Jan 10:04 pm (GMT -6)
Just 8 minutes ago, a 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Santa Tecla, Departamento de La Libertad, El Salvador. The tremor was recorded late at night on Sunday 17 January 2021 at 10:04 pm local time, at a shallow depth of 27 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 La Libertad (pop. 16,900) located 43 km from the epicenter, Acajutla (pop. 22,800) 54 km away, Sonsonate (pop. 59,500) 63 km away, Santa Tecla (pop. 124,700) 64 km away, San Marcos (pop. 54,600) 68 km away, San Salvador (pop. 526,000) 70 km away, Mexicanos (pop. 160,300) 73 km away, Delgado (pop. 71,600) 74 km away, and Soyapango (pop. 329,700) 75 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 La Libertad (pop. 16,900) located 43 km from the epicenter, Acajutla (pop. 22,800) 54 km away, Sonsonate (pop. 59,500) 63 km away, Santa Tecla (pop. 124,700) 64 km away, San Marcos (pop. 54,600) 68 km away, San Salvador (pop. 526,000) 70 km away, Mexicanos (pop. 160,300) 73 km away, Delgado (pop. 71,600) 74 km away, and Soyapango (pop. 329,700) 75 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: 18 Jan 2021 04:04:21 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Sunday, 17 Jan 2021 10:04 pm (GMT -6)
Magnitude: 4.5
Depth: 32.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 13.2°N / 89.55°W

Nearest volcano: San Salvador (68 km / 42 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
40 km (25 mi) SW of La Libertad (pop: 16,900) --> See nearby quakes!
53 km (33 mi) SE of Acajutla (pop: 22,800) --> See nearby quakes!
61 km (38 mi) SSW of Antiguo Cuscatlan (Antiguo Cuscatlán) (pop: 33,800) --> See nearby quakes!
62 km (39 mi) SSE of Izalco (pop: 19,200) --> See nearby quakes!
65 km (40 mi) SW of San Marcos (pop: 54,600) --> See nearby quakes!
67 km (42 mi) SW of San Salvador (pop: 526,000) --> See nearby quakes!
72 km (45 mi) SW of Soyapango (pop: 329,700) --> See nearby quakes!
88 km (55 mi) S of Santa Ana (pop: 176,700) --> See nearby quakes!
124 km (77 mi) SW of Sensuntepeque (pop: 20,400) --> See nearby quakes!
191 km (119 mi) SE of Guatemala City (Guatemala) (pop: 994,900) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Clear Sky
25°C (77 F), humidity: 78%, wind: 3 m/s (5 kts) from NNW
Primary data source: INETERClear Sky

Estimated released energy: 3.5 x 1011 joules (98.6 megawatt hours, equivalent to 84.8 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 4.5 | 32 km | 40 Km Al Suroeste De La Libertad, El Salvador | INETER |
M 4.2 | 75 km | OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR | EMSC |
M 4.2 | 75 km | 5 Km S of La Libertad, El Salvador | USGS |
User reports for this quake (14)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
Contribute:
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!
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!
Ilopango. San Salvador (72.6 km NE of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s
63.1 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s (reported through our app)
67.8 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app)
62.4 km N of epicenter [Map] / not felt / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : 6 89 (reported through our app)
Honduras sps (305.4 km NNE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
66.8 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) (reported through our app)
62.4 km NE of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
San Luis Talpa (60.5 km ENE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
68.7 km NE of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s (reported through our app)
68.3 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / very short (reported through our app)
69.6 km NNE of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s (reported through our app)
Sonsonate / Light shaking (MMI IV) / very short
san salvador, el salvador / Weak shaking (MMI III) : 100 miles away and felt it -- it was clearly and earthquake. Short, two jolts.
Qaulity Inn Airport El Salvador / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
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|98km / 61mi| North Pacific Ocean, 91 km SE of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 06 Aug 1942 23:37| 7.7 |35km / 22mi|79 years ago|187km / 116mi| North Pacific Ocean, 26 km S of La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
- 04 Feb 1976 09:01| 7.5 |5km / 3.1mi|45 years ago|241km / 150mi| Municipio de Los Amates, 70 km SW of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
- 19 Apr 1902 02:23| 7.5 |unknown|119 years ago|180km / 112mi| 10.8 km SE of La Gomera, Escuintla, Guatemala
- 27 Aug 2012 04:37| 7.3 |20km / 13mi|9 years ago|151km / 94mi| North Pacific Ocean, 173 km SE of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 27 Aug 2012 04:37| 7.3 |28km / 17mi|9 years ago|157km / 98mi| North Pacific Ocean, 184 km S of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 19 Jun 1982 06:21| 7.3 |73km / 45mi|39 years ago|23km / 14mi| North Pacific Ocean, 45 km SW of San Salvador, El Salvador
- 14 Oct 2014 03:51| 7.2 |43km / 27mi|6 years ago|175km / 109mi| North Pacific Ocean, 66 km W of Jiquilillo, Nicaragua
- 08 Feb 1926 15:18| 7.2 |20km / 12.4mi|95 years ago|139km / 86mi| North Pacific Ocean, 119 km S of Usulutan, El Salvador
- 21 May 1932 10:10| 7.1 |15km / 9.3mi|89 years ago|160km / 100mi| Departamento de La Union, 9 km SE of Chirilagua, El Salvador
Hint: Click on Date/Time to show latest first
Show all