On Friday Evening a Significant M5.6 Earthquake struck near Oaxaca in Mexico.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 15th, 2025. Last updated April 28th, 2025.

A significant MAG-5.6 earthquake struck under land 81 kilometer from Oaxaca in Mexico in the evening of Friday March 14th, 2025. Roughly 14 million people may have felt this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Mexico, 81 kilometer (50 mi) west-northwest of Oaxaca. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 56 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Mar 14, 2025 21:19 (Mexico City Time) - Mar 15, 2025 03:19 Universal Time.
Location:	81 km WNW of Oaxaca, Mexico. Coordinates 17°21'37"N 97°25'8"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.6 Detected by 58 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.041 .
Depth:	56 km (35 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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:

Four persons injured and one building damaged at Mexico City.

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 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 14 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 14 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 1,500,000 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 11 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Mexico .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Mexico . Located 30 kilometer (19 mi) east-northeast of the epicenter of this earthquake, Heroica Ciudad de Tlaxiaco (Oaxaca, Mexico) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Heroica Ciudad de Tlaxiaco is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Mexico City is located 292 km to the northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Puebla is located 204 km to the north-northwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Iztapalapa is located 282 km to the northwest (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 IV. 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 49 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 49 people have reported shaking in 21 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:

• Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico: 13 people.
• Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico: 10 people.
• Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico: 4 people.
• Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico: 2 people.
• Tlalnepantla, México, Mexico: 2 people.
• Huajuapan, Oaxaca, Mexico: 2 people.
• Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico: 2 people.
• Zinacatepec, Puebla, Mexico: 1 person.
• Tianguismanalco, Puebla, Mexico: 1 person.
• Puebla, Puebla, Mexico: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. Just 8 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.1 was detected 85 km (53 mi) east of this earthquake.

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 December 7th, 2023, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 172 km (107 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck on June 23rd, 2020.

In total, 16 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 8 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 28/04/25 03:48 (). 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 us6000pyyq
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250315_0000027
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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