A significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck under land 12 kilometer from Guayaquil in Ecuador in the evening of Sunday January 12th, 2025. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. Peru is also near its epicenter.
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Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Ecuador, 12 kilometer (7 mi) south-southeast of Guayaquil in Guayas. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 83 km.
| Date and Time: | Jan 12, 2025 21:20 (Guayaquil Time) - Jan 13, 2025 02:20 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 12 km SSE of Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador. Coordinates 2°17'23"S 79°49'60"W. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 306 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.033 . |
| Depth: | 83 km (51 mi) An intermediate depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (2 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to 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: Ecuador and Peru .
Located 12 kilometer (7 mi) south-southeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Guayaquil (Guayas, Ecuador) is the nearest significant population center.
Major cities near this earthquake: Guayaquil is located 12 km to the north-northwest. Eloy Alfaro is located 13 km to the north. Quito is located 271 km to the north-northeast.
An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 12 km (7 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Guayaquil Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 13 km (8 mi) N from epicenter |
Eloy Alfaro Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 26 km (16 mi) NE from epicenter |
Yaguachi Nuevo Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 32 km (20 mi) NE from epicenter |
Milagro Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 38 km (24 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Samborondón Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 42 km (26 mi) NNW from epicenter |
El Triunfo Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 43 km (27 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Naranjito Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 49 km (30 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Naranjal Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 57 km (35 mi) ESE from epicenter |
La Troncal Cañar, Ecuador. |
| 64 km (40 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Babahoyo Los Ríos, Ecuador. |
| 69 km (43 mi) NW from epicenter |
Pedro Carbo Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 72 km (45 mi) WSW from epicenter |
Playas Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 82 km (51 mi) NE from epicenter |
Montalvo Los Ríos, Ecuador. |
| 82 km (51 mi) N from epicenter |
Vinces Los Ríos, Ecuador. |
| 103 km (64 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Ventanas Los Ríos, Ecuador. |
| 103 km (64 mi) N from epicenter |
Balzar Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 109 km (68 mi) S from epicenter |
Machala El Oro, Ecuador. |
| 114 km (71 mi) W from epicenter |
Santa Elena Santa Elena, Ecuador. |
| 114 km (71 mi) SE from epicenter |
Cuenca Azuay, Ecuador. |
| 115 km (71 mi) S from epicenter |
Pasaje El Oro, Ecuador. |
| 120 km (75 mi) ESE from epicenter |
Azogues Cañar, Ecuador. |
| 120 km (75 mi) W from epicenter |
La Libertad Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 121 km (75 mi) NE from epicenter |
Guaranda Bolívar, Ecuador. |
| 125 km (78 mi) W from epicenter |
Salinas Santa Elena, Ecuador. |
| 130 km (81 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Sucre Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 130 km (81 mi) S from epicenter |
Santa Rosa El Oro, Ecuador. |
| 133 km (83 mi) NW from epicenter |
Jipijapa Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 135 km (84 mi) ESE from epicenter |
Gualaceo Azuay, Ecuador. |
| 139 km (86 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Huaquillas El Oro, Ecuador. |
| 140 km (87 mi) N from epicenter |
Velasco Ibarra Guayas, Ecuador. |
| 143 km (89 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Zarumilla Tumbes, Peru. |
| 146 km (91 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Quevedo Los Ríos, Ecuador. |
| 149 km (93 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Riobamba Chimborazo, Ecuador. |
| 154 km (96 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Portoviejo Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 156 km (97 mi) S from epicenter |
Piñas El Oro, Ecuador. |
| 158 km (98 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Tumbes Tumbes, Peru. |
| 164 km (102 mi) NNE from epicenter |
La Maná Cotopaxi, Ecuador. |
| 165 km (103 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Calceta Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 166 km (103 mi) NW from epicenter |
Montecristi Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 177 km (110 mi) NW from epicenter |
Manta Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 178 km (111 mi) NE from epicenter |
Ambato Tungurahua, Ecuador. |
| 179 km (111 mi) NE from epicenter |
Pelileo Tungurahua, Ecuador. |
| 179 km (111 mi) N from epicenter |
Chone Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 191 km (119 mi) E from epicenter |
Macas Morona-Santiago, Ecuador. |
| 195 km (121 mi) NE from epicenter |
Pujilí Cotopaxi, Ecuador. |
| 196 km (122 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Catamayo Loja, Ecuador. |
| 199 km (124 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Bahía de Caráquez Manabí, Ecuador. |
| 202 km (126 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Loja Loja, Ecuador. |
| 202 km (126 mi) NE from epicenter |
Latacunga Cotopaxi, Ecuador. |
| 220 km (137 mi) SSE from epicenter |
Zamora Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador. |
| 222 km (138 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Puyo Pastaza, Ecuador. |
| 238 km (148 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Santo Domingo de los Colorados Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador. |
| 267 km (166 mi) ENE from epicenter |
Tena Napo, Ecuador. |
| 271 km (168 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Quito Pichincha, Ecuador. |
| 294 km (183 mi) N from epicenter |
Rosa Zarate Esmeraldas, Ecuador. |
| 299 km (186 mi) S from epicenter |
Tambo Grande Piura, Peru. |
Shaking reported by 57 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 57 people have reported shaking in 16 places, all within Ecuador.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.
Places with most reports:
- Eloy Alfaro, Guayas, Ecuador: 12 people.
- Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador: 11 people.
- Santa Lucía, Guayas, Ecuador: 11 people.
- Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador: 9 people.
- Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador: 3 people.
- Pujilí, Cotopaxi, Ecuador: 1 person.
- Machala, El Oro, Ecuador: 1 person.
- Portovelo, El Oro, Ecuador: 1 person.
- El Triunfo, Guayas, Ecuador: 1 person.
- Santa Elena, Guayas, Ecuador: 1 person.
Risk of aftershocks?
This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.
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.
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.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).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 21st, 2023, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 102 km (63 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on April 16th, 2016.
In total, 35 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 3 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
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck on land near a coastal area (2 km from the sea). | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 83 km (51 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 14/01/25 13:38 (). 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.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pjm2
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250113_0000029
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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