On Wednesday Night a Significant M5.5 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean near Salina Cruz (Mexico).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 5th, 2025. Last updated March 10th, 2025.

A significant MAG-5.5 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 62 kilometer from Salina Cruz, Mexico deep in the night of Wednesday March 5th, 2025. Roughly 3.4 million people may have felt this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 49 kilometers (30 mi) off the coast of Mexico, 62 kilometer south-east of Salina Cruz in Oaxaca. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 47 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Mar 5, 2025 03:43 (Mexico City Time) - Mar 5, 2025 09:43 Universal Time.
Location:	62 km SE of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, Mexico. Coordinates 15°45'50"N 94°47'48"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 55 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.042 .
Depth:	47 km (29 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (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 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 3.4 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 3.4 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 592,400 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 2 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably 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 . Salina Cruz in Oaxaca, Mexico is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 62 kilometer (39 mi) south-east of Salina Cruz. The intensity of shaking and damage in Salina Cruz is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Tuxtla is located 211 km to the east-northeast and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Oaxaca is located 251 km to the northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Coatzacoalcos is located 268 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is V.

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 5 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 5 people have reported shaking in 4 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:

• Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico: 2 people.
• San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico: 1 person.
• Tlalnepantla, México, Mexico: 1 person.
• Xadani, Oaxaca, Mexico: 1 person.

18 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 18 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days later 69 km (43 mi) south-east of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 8 smaller foreshocks. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 15 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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 October 25th, 2024, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 296 km (184 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck on September 8th, 2017.

In total, 48 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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.

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 10/03/25 09:18 (). 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 us6000px0a
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250305_0000086
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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