Shallow M5.6 Earthquake hit near La Unión in El Salvador on Sunday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 9th, 2024. Last updated February 7th, 2025.

In the evening of Sunday December 8th, 2024, a shallow and significant M5.6 earthquake hit under land 6 kilometer from La Unión in El Salvador. Earthquakes like this can cause significant economic damage but are usually unlikely to result on large numbers of fatalities. Other countries near the epicenter include Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in El Salvador, 6 kilometer (4 mi) south of La Unión. 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:	Dec 8, 2024 09:50PM (El Salvador Time) - Dec 9, 2024 03:50 Universal Time.
Location:	6 km south of La Unión, El Salvador. Coordinates 13°17'5"N 87°51'13"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 75 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.036 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (5 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant economic impact

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

Ten homes destroyed and at least 182 buildings damaged; landslides occurred in the Conchagua-La Union area.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 38% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 94% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 100 million USD.

Roughly 16 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 16 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

An estimated 4,340 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 12 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected.

People in 4 countries have been exposed to shaking. In El Salvador , around 6 million people, with impact levels up to VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage). Roughly 3.8 million people were exposed to shaking in Nicaragua . Roughly 5.5 million people were exposed to shaking in Honduras . People were exposed to shaking in Guatemala as well.

Nearby towns and cities

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

La Unión in La Unión, El Salvador is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 6 kilometer (4 mi) south of La Unión. The intensity of shaking and damage in La Unión is estimated to be around level VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (strong shaking, probably light damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Tegucigalpa is located 113 km to the north-east and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Managua is located 216 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of II (very weak shaking, no damage). San Miguel is located 42 km to the west-northwest and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 64 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 64 people have reported shaking in 25 places in 2 countries (El Salvador, Honduras).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Tegucigalpa, Distrito Central, Honduras: 26 people.
• El Tablón, Francisco Morazán, Honduras: 4 people.
• Santa Lucía, Francisco Morazán, Honduras: 4 people.
• Yaguacire, Francisco Morazán, Honduras: 3 people.
• Antiguo Cuscatlán, La Libertad, El Salvador: 2 people.
• Marcala, La Paz, Honduras: 2 people.
• La Unión, La Unión, El Salvador: 2 people.
• Chirilagua, San Miguel, El Salvador: 2 people.
• Choluteca, Choluteca, Honduras: 2 people.
• Las Tapias, Francisco Morazán, Honduras: 2 people.

180 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 180 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit 10 hrs later 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 9 smaller foreshocks were detected. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.9 was detected nearby this earthquake.

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.

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 28th, 2024, when a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit 189 km (117 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on November 24th, 2016.

In total, 23 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.6 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 5 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 07/02/25 00:48 (). 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 us7000nx79
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241209_0000041
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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