On Thursday Night a Shallow M5.2 FORESHOCK struck in the Gulf Of California 148km from Ciudad Obregón (Mexico).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 18th, 2024. Last updated May 4th, 2024.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.2 foreshock struck in the Gulf Of California 148 kilometer from Ciudad Obregón, Mexico in the night of Thursday April 18th, 2024.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Gulf Of California, 62 kilometers (38 mi) off the coast of Mexico, 148 kilometer south-southwest of Ciudad Obregón in Sonora. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 18, 2024 00:39 (Hermosillo Time) - Apr 18, 2024 07:39 Universal Time.
Location:	148 km SSW of Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. Coordinates 26°16'25"N 110°34'2"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 55 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.042 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very 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

This earthquake may have been felt in Mexico . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Huatabampo in Sonora, Mexico. Huatabampo is located 111 kilometer (69 mi) southwest of the epicenter.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Ciudad Obregón is located 148 km to the north-northeast. Los Mochis is located 166 km to the east-southeast. La Paz is located 238 km to the south.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Mexico.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico: 1 person.

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.6 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

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 April 13th, 2023, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 296 km (184 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck on September 13th, 2015.

In total, 18 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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 7 months.

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 04/05/24 08:58 (). 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 us7000mcu3
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240418_0000087
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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