Shallow M5.2 FORESHOCK struck on Sunday Morning in the North Pacific Ocean near Tapachula (Mexico).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 16th, 2026. Last updated September 5th, 2026.

In the North Pacific Ocean 94 kilometer from Tapachula, Mexico, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.2 foreshock occurred in the morning of Sunday August 16th, 2026. Guatemala is also near its epicenter.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 67 kilometers (42 mi) off the coast of Mexico, 94 kilometer southwest of Tapachula in Chiapas. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 29 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 16, 2026 09:52 (Mexico City Time) - Aug 16, 2026 15:52 Universal Time.
Location:	94 km SW of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. Coordinates 14°25'58"N 92°59'7"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 25 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.062 .
Depth:	29 km (18 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

Mexico and Guatemala are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Tapachula in Chiapas, Mexico. Tapachula is located 94 kilometer (58 mi) southwest of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Guatemala City is located 267 km to the east. Tapachula is located 94 km to the north-east. Tuxtla is located 259 km to the north.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.7 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

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 July 28th, 2026, when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit 44 km (28 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck on September 8th, 2017.

In total, 114 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 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 month.

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 05/09/26 18:18 (). 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. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260816_0000587
2. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
3. Google Maps: Static API
4. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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