Light mag. 4.3 earthquake - 49 km southwest of Comitan, Chiapas, Mexico, on Wednesday, Jan 20, 2021 at 12:25 am (GMT -6) -
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Light magnitude 4.3 earthquake at 219 km depth
20 Jan 06:49 UTC: First to report: SSN after 23 minutes.
Update Wed, 20 Jan 2021, 06:54
Light magnitude 4.3 earthquake 49 km southwest of Comitan, Mexico4.3 quake 20 Jan 12:25 am (GMT -6)
A intermediate to deep magnitude 4.3 earthquake was reported after midnight near Comitan, Comitán Municipality, Chiapas, Mexico.
According to Mexico's National Seismological Service (SSN), the quake hit on Wednesday 20 January 2021 at 12:25 am local time at an intermediate to considerable depth of 219 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. 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.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.3 as well.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In Antigua Maravillas (pop. 130, 1 km away), Ignacio Zaragoza (pop. 1,100, 17 km away), Jaltenango de la Paz (pop. 10,400, 29 km away), Comalapa (pop. 18,700, 45 km away), Venustiano Carranza (pop. 15,500, 47 km away), Las Rosas (pop. 18,800, 49 km away), Comitan (pop. 97,500, 49 km away), and Motozintla (pop. 23,800, 67 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
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 Mexico's National Seismological Service (SSN), the quake hit on Wednesday 20 January 2021 at 12:25 am local time at an intermediate to considerable depth of 219 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. 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.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.3 as well.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In Antigua Maravillas (pop. 130, 1 km away), Ignacio Zaragoza (pop. 1,100, 17 km away), Jaltenango de la Paz (pop. 10,400, 29 km away), Comalapa (pop. 18,700, 45 km away), Venustiano Carranza (pop. 15,500, 47 km away), Las Rosas (pop. 18,800, 49 km away), Comitan (pop. 97,500, 49 km away), and Motozintla (pop. 23,800, 67 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
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
Earthquake details
| Date & time | Jan 20, 2021 06:25:55 UTC - |
| Local time at epicenter | Wednesday, Jan 20, 2021 at 12:25 am (GMT -6) |
| Status | Confirmed |
| Magnitude | 4.3 |
| Depth | 219.0 km |
| Epicenter latitude / longitude | 15.93°N / 92.46°W  (La Concordia, Chiapas, Mexico) |
| Antipode | 15.93°S / 87.54°E |
| Shaking intensity | Very weak shaking |
| Felt | 0 reports |
| Primary data source | SSN (Servicio Sismológico Nacional) |
| Nearest volcano | Tacana (96 km / 60 mi) |
| Nearby towns and cities | 8 km (5 mi) SW of San José Maravillas (pop: 207) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 45 km (28 mi) NW of Comalapa (pop: 18,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 47 km (29 mi) SSE of Venustiano Carranza (pop: 15,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 49 km (31 mi) S of Las Rosas (pop: 18,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 49 km (31 mi) SW of Comitan (pop: 97,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 67 km (41 mi) SW of Las Margaritas (pop: 20,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 67 km (41 mi) NNW of Motozintla (pop: 23,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 68 km (42 mi) S of Teopisca (pop: 16,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 116 km (72 mi) SE of Tuxtla Gutiérrez (pop: 537,100) | Show on map | Quakes nearby 806 km (501 mi) ESE of Mexico (Ciudad de México) (pop: 12,294,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby |
| Weather at epicenter at time of quake | Clear Sky  20°C (68 F), humidity: 71%, wind: 2 m/s (3 kts) from ESE |
| Estimated seismic energy released | 1.8 x 1011 joules (49.4 megawatt hours, equivalent to 42.5 tons of TNT) | about seismic energy |
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.
| Mag. | Depth | Location | Source |
| 4.3 | 219 km | 45 Km Al NOROESTE De FRONTERA COMALAPA, CHIS, Mexico | SSN |
| 4.3 | 219 km | CHIAPAS, MEXICO | 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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