Significant M5.3 Earthquake struck on Wednesday Afternoon in the North Pacific Ocean near Usulután (El Salvador).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 4th, 2026. Last updated April 1st, 2026.

In the early afternoon of Wednesday March 4th, 2026, a significant M5.3 earthquake hit in the North Pacific Ocean 86 kilometer from Usulután, El Salvador. Other countries near the epicenter include Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 65 kilometers (40 mi) off the coast of El Salvador, 86 kilometer south of Usulután. 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 4, 2026 12:56PM (El Salvador Time) - Mar 4, 2026 18:56 Universal Time.
Location:	86 km south of Usulután, El Salvador. Coordinates 12°34'58"N 88°19'25"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.3 Detected by 672 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.022 .
Depth:	47 km (29 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. El Salvador , Nicaragua , Honduras and Guatemala are all within 300km distance of its epicenter.

Located 82 kilometer (51 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Puerto El Triunfo (Usulután, El Salvador) is the nearest significant population center.

Major cities near this earthquake: Managua is located 231 km to the east. Tegucigalpa is located 206 km to the north-east. San Salvador is located 155 km to the northwest.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 7 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 7 people have reported shaking in 6 places in 2 countries (El Salvador, Costa Rica).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Antiguo Cuscatlán, La Libertad, El Salvador: 2 people.
• Soyapango, San Salvador, El Salvador: 1 person.
• Nuevo Cuscatlán, La Libertad, El Salvador: 1 person.
• La Libertad, La Libertad, El Salvador: 1 person.
• Jucuarán, Usulután, El Salvador: 1 person.
• Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica: 1 person.

9 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 9 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 3.8 magnitude earthquake hit 16 hrs later 49 km (30 mi) north-east of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 3 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 1 day earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.9

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major 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 23rd, 2025, when a 6 magnitude earthquake hit 235 km (146 mi) further west. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on November 24th, 2016.

In total, 63 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.

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 01/04/26 02:28 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000s21s
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260304_0000323
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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