On Wednesday Evening a Significant M5.3 Earthquake struck near Salina Cruz in Mexico.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 4th, 2025. Last updated December 5th, 2025.

A significant M5.3 earthquake struck under land 23 kilometer from Salina Cruz in Mexico in the evening of Wednesday December 3rd, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Mexico, 23 kilometer (14 mi) west-southwest of Salina Cruz in Oaxaca. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 63 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 3, 2025 21:45 (Mexico City Time) - Dec 4, 2025 03:45 Universal Time.
Location:	23 km WSW of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, Mexico. Coordinates 16°6'15"N 95°23'47"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.3 Detected by 17 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.075 .
Depth:	63 km (39 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (6 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

This earthquake may have been felt in Mexico . Located 23 kilometer (14 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Salina Cruz (Oaxaca, Mexico) is the nearest significant population center.

Major cities near this earthquake: Tuxtla is located 254 km to the east-northeast. Oaxaca is located 177 km to the northwest. Coatzacoalcos is located 249 km to the north-northeast.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 17 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 17 people have reported shaking in 8 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:

• Xadani, Oaxaca, Mexico: 5 people.
• Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico: 5 people.
• Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico: 2 people.
• Tlalixtac, Oaxaca, Mexico: 1 person.
• Coyotepec, Oaxaca, Mexico: 1 person.
• Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico: 1 person.
• Santa Lucía del Camino, Oaxaca, Mexico: 1 person.
• Tlalnepantla, México, Mexico: 1 person.

9 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 9 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit 7 hrs later 80 km (50 mi) west-northwest of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 7 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.1

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 August 11th, 2025, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 176 km (109 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck on September 8th, 2017.

In total, 71 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.3 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 2 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 05/12/25 02:28 (). 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 us7000rfg4
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251204_0000045
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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