Shallow M5.5 Earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 272km from Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) on Friday Afternoon.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 5th, 2025. Last updated December 8th, 2025.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 272 kilometer from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in the early afternoon of Friday December 5th, 2025. Roughly 70 thousand people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 202 kilometers (126 mi) off the coast of Mexico, 272 kilometer southwest of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 16 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 5, 2025 13:33 (Mexico City Time) - Dec 5, 2025 19:33 Universal Time.
Location:	272 km SW of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Coordinates 18°39'17"N 106°46'29"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 80 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.035 .
Depth:	16 km (10 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light 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 70 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 70 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is III, which corresponds with weak shaking and probably no damage. Roughly 63,670 people are expected to be exposed to this level. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Mexico .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
3,950	II	Very weak	None
63,670	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Mexico . Cihuatlán in Jalisco, Mexico is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 241 kilometer (150 mi) west-southwest of Cihuatlán.

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
241 km (150 mi) ENE from epicenter	Cihuatlán Jalisco, Mexico.
261 km (162 mi) ENE from epicenter	Manzanillo Colima, Mexico.
272 km (169 mi) NE from epicenter	Puerto Vallarta Jalisco, Mexico.
279 km (173 mi) NE from epicenter	Mezcales Nayarit, Mexico.
282 km (175 mi) ENE from epicenter	Autlán de Navarro Jalisco, Mexico.
282 km (175 mi) NE from epicenter	Ixtapa Jalisco, Mexico.
285 km (177 mi) NE from epicenter	San José del Valle Jalisco, Mexico.
297 km (185 mi) ENE from epicenter	El Grullo Jalisco, Mexico.
298 km (185 mi) E from epicenter	Ciudad de Armería Colima, Mexico.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is III. 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

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

4 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 4 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 14 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.1 was detected 20 km (13 mi) west-southwest of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 5 smaller foreshocks were detected. Roughly 3 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-4.4 was detected nearby this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 3.9	3 days earlier Dec 2, 2025 16:42 (Mexico City Time)	76 km (47 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.4	3 days earlier Dec 3, 2025 00:24 (Mexico City Time)	86 km (53 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.8	22 hrs earlier Dec 4, 2025 15:12 (Mexico City Time)	56 km (35 mi) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.3	3 hrs earlier Dec 5, 2025 10:22 (Mexico City Time)	4 km (2.4 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.1	3 hrs earlier Dec 5, 2025 10:47 (Mexico City Time)	12 km (8 mi) E from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.5	Dec 5, 2025 13:33 (Mexico City Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.7	2 hrs later Dec 5, 2025 15:30 (Mexico City Time)	20 km (12 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.9	3 hrs later Dec 5, 2025 16:48 (Mexico City Time)	12 km (8 mi) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.1	14 hrs later Dec 6, 2025 03:39 (Mexico City Time)	20 km (13 mi) WSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.9	2 days later Dec 7, 2025 02:26 (Mexico City Time)	10 km (6 mi) W from Main Shock.

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.

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 September 25th, 2025, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 117 km (72 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck on January 21st, 2016.

In total, 25 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 5 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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

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 under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 16 km (10 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 08/12/25 02:38 (). 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.