On Sunday Night a Strong M6.2 Earthquake struck near Colima in Mexico.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 12th, 2025. Last updated February 21st, 2025.

A strong M6.2 earthquake struck under land 89 kilometer from Colima in Mexico in the night of Sunday January 12th, 2025. Around 5.4 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Mexico, 89 kilometer (55 mi) south-east of Colima. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 39 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 12, 2025 02:32 (Mexico City Time) - Jan 12, 2025 08:32 Universal Time.
Location:	89 km SE of Colima, Mexico. Coordinates 18°35'34"N 103°14'25"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.2 Detected by 96 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.032 .
Depth:	39 km (24 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

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

Two people injured at Chinicuila. At least 25 homes and several buildings damaged in the Apatzingan-Chinicuila-Coalcoman-Tamazula de Gordiano area. Landslides blocked a road between Colima and Manzanillo.

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 GREEN (low). They expect an 99% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 5.4 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 5.4 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 8,770 people were exposed to level VI. At this level, strong shaking and probably light damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 2.7 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Mexico .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Mexico . Located 76 kilometer (47 mi) east-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Tecomán (Colima, Mexico) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Tecomán is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Guadalajara is located 231 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low). Zapopan is located 237 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low). León de los Aldama is located 326 km to the north-northeast (intensity unknown, possibly low).

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 maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is VI. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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 636 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 636 people have reported shaking in 84 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:

• Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico: 235 people.
• Bucerías, Nayarit, Mexico: 71 people.
• Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico: 43 people.
• San Patricio, Jalisco, Mexico: 41 people.
• Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: 38 people.
• Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico: 20 people.
• Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico: 16 people.
• Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico: 14 people.
• Ixtapa, Jalisco, Mexico: 14 people.
• Colima, Colima, Mexico: 11 people.

51 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 51 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit 2 hrs later 13 km (8 mi) north-northeast of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 2 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 2 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.5

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.

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 are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since September 22nd, 2022, when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit 47 km (29 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on September 19th, 2022.

In total, 3 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.2 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 3 years.

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 21/02/25 03:48 (). 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 us6000pjig
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250112_0000092
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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