Significant M5.1 Earthquake struck on Saturday Afternoon in the North Pacific Ocean near Chinandega (Nicaragua).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 2nd, 2024. Last updated November 20th, 2024.

A significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 89 kilometer from Chinandega, Nicaragua in the early afternoon of Saturday November 2nd, 2024. El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are also near its epicenter.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 50 kilometers (31 mi) off the coast of Nicaragua, 89 kilometer west of Chinandega. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 69 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 2, 2024 01:59PM (Managua Time) - Nov 2, 2024 19:59 Universal Time.
Location:	89 km west of Chinandega, Nicaragua. Coordinates 12°32'42"N 87°57'3"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 40 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.049 .
Depth:	69 km (43 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

4 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Nicaragua , El Salvador , Honduras and Guatemala .

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Corinto in Chinandega, Nicaragua. Corinto is located 85 kilometer (53 mi) west of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Managua is located 190 km to the east-southeast. Tegucigalpa is located 189 km to the north-northeast. San Salvador is located 185 km to the northwest.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 7 people in 3 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 7 people have reported shaking in 6 places in 3 countries (El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Ticuantepe, Managua, Nicaragua: 2 people.
• Moncagua, San Miguel, El Salvador: 1 person.
• Concepción Batres, Usulután, El Salvador: 1 person.
• Choluteca, Choluteca, Honduras: 1 person.
• Larreynaga, León, Nicaragua: 1 person.
• León, León, Nicaragua: 1 person.

12 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 12 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit 16 hrs later 7 km (5 mi) southwest of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 7 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 3.6 magnitude earthquake hit 15 hrs earlier nearby.

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.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this 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 September 15th, 2024, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 221 km (137 mi) further west-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on November 24th, 2016.

In total, 87 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 20/11/24 21:48 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000npl2
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241102_0000249
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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