Information on the earthquake: moderate mag. Earthquake 5.1 – North Pacific Ocean, 50 km southwest of Mapastepec, Chiapas, Mexico, Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 8:59 p.m. (GMT -5)

Moderate magnitude 5.1 earthquake 84 km deep
24 Sep 02:07 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 7 minutes.
24 Sep 02:21: Now using data updates from SSN
Updated Fri Sep 24, 2021, 02:12 AM
Moderate magnitude 4.9 earthquake strikes in the evening 15 km southeast of Pijijiapan, Mexico
4.9 earthquake 23 September 20:59 (GMT -5)
According to preliminary data, the earthquake was located at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deep ones because they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter and depth of the quake could be revised in the coming hours or minutes, as seismologists review the data and refine their calculations, or when other agencies release their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) which also listed the 4.9 magnitude earthquake.
Based on preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the epicenter area. It could have caused slight to moderate damage.
Moderate tremors probably occurred in Ceniceros (350 inhabitants) located 1 km from the epicenter.
In El Carmen (1,400 inhabitants) located 6 km from the epicenter, Joaquin Miguel Gutiérrez (Margaritas) (1,600 inhabitants) 9 km away, Pijijiapan (16,900 inhabitants) 15 km and Mapastepec (17,900 inhabitants) .) at 33 km, the earthquake should have been felt as a slight tremor.
Weak tremors could be felt in Villaflores (37,200 inhabitants) located 77 km from the epicenter, Tonala (35,300 inhabitants) 86 km and Huixtla (32,000 inhabitants) 89 km.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update the magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant earthquake news becomes available. If you are in the region, please share your experience with us through our reporting mechanism, online or through our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone in the world who is interested in learning more about this earthquake.
If you were or still are in this area during the earthquake help others with your comments and report it here.
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Earthquake data
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Date and hour : 24 Sep 2021 01:59:54 UTC –
Local time at epicenter: Thursday 23 Sep 2021 20:59 (GMT -5)
Magnitude: 5.1
Depth: 84.0 km
Latitude / longitude of epicenter: 15.17 ° N / 93.28 ° W↗ (North Pacific Ocean, Mexico)
Antipode: 15.17 ° S / 86.72 ° E↗
Nearest volcano: Tacana (124 km / 77 mi)
Nearby towns and villages:
33 km (21 mi) SSO of La Esperanza (El Zapotal) (pop: 1,030) -> Watch the earthquakes nearby!
47 km (29 mi) SSO of Joaquin Miguel Gutiérrez (Margaritas) (pop: 1,620) -> See nearby earthquakes!
50 km (31 mi) southwest of Mapastepec (pop: 17,900) -> Observe the earthquakes nearby!
58 km (36 mi) south of Pijijiapan (pop: 16,900) -> See nearby earthquakes!
69 km (43 mi) WW of Escuintla (pop: 9,570) -> See nearby earthquakes!
76 km (47 mi) west of Villa Comaltitlan (San Juan) (pop: 7,200) -> Observe the earthquakes nearby!
88 km (54 mi) west of Huixtla (pop: 32,000) -> Observe the earthquakes nearby!
98 km (61 mi) southwest of Angel Albino Corzo (Jaltenango de la Paz) (pop: 10,400) -> Observe the earthquakes nearby!
114 km (71 mi) to WNW of Tapachula (pop: 202,700) -> See nearby earthquakes!
781 km (485 mi) southeast of Mexico (pop: 12,294,200) -> Observe the earthquakes nearby!
Clouds covered

Main data source: SSN (Servicio Sismológico Nacional)
Estimated energy released: 2.8 x 1012 joules (783 megawatt hours, equivalent to 674 tonnes of TNT) Find out more
If you did NOT feel the earthquake although you are in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable to earthquake science, seismic risk analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device’s location or the map to show where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report the same earthquake and publish similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It normally takes up to a few hours for the seismic parameters to be calculated with near optimum accuracy.
Mag. | Depth | Site | Source |
5.1 | 84 km | Mexico: 52 Km Al SUROESTE From MAPASTEPEC, CHIS | SSN |
4.9 | 100 km | CHIAPAS, MEXICO | EMSC |
5.4 | 60 km | Mexico: 62 km Al Sur De Pijijiapan, Mexico | INETER |
4.9 | 93 km | 21 km on the south of La Esperanza (El Zapotal), Mexico | USGS |
5.2 | 87 km | Near the coast of Chiapas, Mexico | BMKG |
4.9 | 10 km | Near the coast of Chiapas, Mexico | GFZ |
replicas
More information
Aftershocks recorded, latest first (0 earthquakes so far, frequently updated)
So far, no aftershock has been recorded.
Previous earthquakes in the same region
Click here to search our database for previous earthquakes in the same area since 1900!