On Wednesday Night a Shallow M5.3 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 108km from Tapachula (Mexico).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on September 25th, 2024. Last updated October 15th, 2024.

In the night of Wednesday September 25th, 2024, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 108 kilometer from Tapachula, Mexico. Another nearby country is Guatemala.

Felt the earthquake? Share this article:

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 79 kilometers (49 mi) off the coast of Mexico, 108 kilometer west-southwest of Tapachula in Chiapas. 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:	Sep 25, 2024 01:43 (Mexico City Time) - Sep 25, 2024 06:43 Universal Time.
Location:	108 km WSW of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. Coordinates 14°24'38"N 93°7'39"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.3 Detected by 46 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.046 .
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

2 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Mexico and Guatemala .

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Huixtla in Chiapas, Mexico. Huixtla is located 108 kilometer (67 mi) southwest of the epicenter.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Guatemala City is located 283 km to the east. Tuxtla is located 261 km to the north. Tapachula is located 108 km to the east-northeast.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 8 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 8 people have reported shaking in 3 places, all within 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:

• Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico: 4 people.
• Puerto Madero, Chiapas, Mexico: 3 people.
• Naucalpan, México, Mexico: 1 person.

12 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 12 smaller aftershocks. Just 17 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.5 was detected 43 km (26 mi) southwest of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 4 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 5 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.5

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 August 5th, 2024, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 282 km (175 mi) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck on September 8th, 2017.

In total, 108 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 15/10/24 08:58 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000ng3m
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240925_0000056
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

Share this article: