On Wednesday Afternoon a Significant M5.3 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 124km from Guatemala City (Guatemala).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 1st, 2023. Last updated December 9th, 2023.

A significant Magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 124 kilometer from Guatemala City, Guatemala in the afternoon of Wednesday November 1st, 2023. Other countries near the epicenter include El Salvador, Mexico and Honduras.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 42 kilometers (26 mi) off the coast of Guatemala, 124 kilometer south-southwest of Guatemala City. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 51 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 1, 2023 03:52PM (Guatemala Time) - Nov 1, 2023 21:52 Universal Time.
Location:	124 km SSW of Guatemala City, Guatemala, Guatemala. Coordinates 13°32'59"N 90°46'11"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.3 Detected by 30 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.057 .
Depth:	51 km (31 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

Guatemala , El Salvador , Mexico and Honduras are all located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

Located 42 kilometer (26 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Puerto San José (Escuintla, Guatemala) is the nearest significant population center.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Guatemala City is located 124 km to the north-northeast. Mixco is located 121 km to the north. Villa Nueva is located 110 km to the north.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 21 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 21 people have reported shaking in 13 places in 2 countries (El Salvador, Guatemala).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala: 4 people.
• Antiguo Cuscatlán, La Libertad, El Salvador: 3 people.
• Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala: 2 people.
• Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala, Guatemala: 2 people.
• Panajachel, Sololá, Guatemala: 2 people.
• La Libertad, La Libertad, El Salvador: 1 person.
• Nuevo Cuscatlán, La Libertad, El Salvador: 1 person.
• San Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador: 1 person.
• El Tejar, Chimaltenango, Guatemala: 1 person.
• Palín, Escuintla, Guatemala: 1 person.

2 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 15 km (9 mi) north-northeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.4

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Roughly 1 day before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.8 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since July 30th, 2023, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 84 km (52 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on June 14th, 2017.

In total, 87 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every month.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 09/12/23 02:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000l875
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20231101_0000183
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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