This is a partial list of earthquakes in Mexico. This list considers every notable earthquake felt or with its epicenter within Mexico's current borders and maritime areas.
This is a partial list of earthquakes in Mexico. This list considers every notable earthquake felt or with its epicenter within Mexico's current borders and maritime areas.
Mexico lies within two seismically active earthquake zones. The Baja California peninsula lies near the boundary of the Pacific plate and the North American plate, while southern Mexico lies just north of the boundary between the North American plate and the Cocos and Rivera tectonic plates. The Cocos plate is subducting under the North American plate at a rate of 67 mm (0.220 ft) per year, while the Pacific and Rivera plates are moving northwest relative to the North American plate. Southern Mexico also contains numerous faults, which causes that section of the country to have high tectonic activity. Northeastern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula are not as seismically active as the area close to the boundary between the North American and Cocos plates, but destructive earthquakes can still occur in those areas.
| Date | Area | Mag. | MMI | Deaths | Injuries | Total damage / notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-09-22 | Michoacán | 6.8 Mw | VII | 3 | 5 | Aftershock | |
| 2022-09-19 | Michoacán | 7.6 Mw | VIII | 2 | 35 | Severe damage | [1] |
| 2022-06-21 | Jalisco | 2.4 Mw | Severe damage | [2] [3] | |||
| 2022-03-03 | Veracruz | 5.7 Mw | IV | Minor damage | [4] [5] | ||
| 2021-09-07 | Guerrero | 7.0 Mw | VIII | 13 | 23 | Three missing, damage to 8,700 buildings | |
| 2020-06-23 | Oaxaca | 7.4 Mw | IX | 10 | 25 | ||
| 2018-02-16 | Oaxaca | 7.2 Mw | VII | 14 | 17 | Most of casualties after a helicopter crash | |
| 2017-09-23 | Oaxaca | 6.1 Mw | VII | 6 | 7 | 7,000 displaced | [6] [7] [8] |
| 2017-09-19 | Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla | 7.1 Mw | IX | 370 | 6,011 | ||
| 2017-09-07 | Chiapas, Oaxaca | 8.2 Mw | IX | 98 | 300 | Tsunami | |
| 2015-11-23 | Guerrero | 5.5 Mw | IV | 2 | [9] | ||
| 2014-07-07 | Chiapas | 6.9 Mw | VII | 5 | 12 | ||
| 2014-05-08 | Guerrero | 6.6 Mw | VII | ||||
| 2014-04-18 | Guerrero | 7.2 Mw | VII | 1 | |||
| 2012-03-20 | Guerrero, Oaxaca | 7.4 Mw | VIII | 2 | 11 | ||
| 2011-12-10 | Guerrero | 6.5 Mw | VII | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2011-05-05 | Guerrero | 5.7 Mw | VI | ||||
| 2010-06-30 | Oaxaca | 6.2 Mw | 1 | ||||
| 2010-04-04 | Baja California | 7.2 Mw | VII | 2–4 | 100–233 | $1.15 billion | |
| 2009-04-27 | Guerrero | 5.8 Mw | V | 3 | Four houses destroyed | [10] [11] | |
| 2003-01-22 | Colima | 7.5 Mw | VIII | 29 | 300 | Severe / tsunami | |
| 1999-12-29 | Guerrero | 5.9 Mw | V | 1 | Minor damage | [12] | |
| 1999-09-30 | Oaxaca | 7.4 Mw | VIII | 35 | |||
| 1999-06-15 | Puebla | 7.0 Mw | VIII | 14 | 200 | MXN $200,000,000 | [13] |
| 1997-01-11 | Michoacán | 7.2 Mw | VIII | 1 | Damage at Arteaga | [14] | |
| 1995-10-21 | Chiapas | 7.1 Mw | VI | ||||
| 1995-10-09 | Colima, Jalisco | 8.0 Mw | VIII | 49–58 | 100 | Tsunami | |
| 1995-09-14 | Guerrero | 7.4 Mw | VII | 3 | |||
| 1989-04-25 | Guerrero | 6.9 Mw | VII | 3 | 6–350 | [15] [16] | |
| 1985-09-19 | Michoacán, Mexico City | 8.0 Mw | IX | 5,000–45,000 | 30,000 | Extreme / tsunami | |
| 1981-10-25 | Michoacán | 7.2 Mw | VIII | 3 | |||
| 1980-10-24 | Oaxaca | 7.2 Mw | IX | 65–300+ | Many | $5 million | |
| 1979-10-15 | Baja California | 6.4 Mw | IX | 91 | |||
| 1979-03-14 | Guerrero | 7.6 Mw | VIII | 5 | 35 | ||
| 1973-08-28 | Puebla, Veracruz | 7.1 ML | VIII | 539–1,000 | Thousands | Severe | |
| 1973-01-30 | Colima | 7.5 Ms | 56 | 390 | Moderate / non-destructive tsunami | [17] | |
| 1968-08-02 | Guerrero, Oaxaca | 7.3 | VII | ||||
| 1965-08-23 | Oaxaca | 7.5 Mw | 6 | ||||
| 1964-07-06 | Guerrero | 7.4 Ms | IX | 40 | |||
| 1959-08-26 | Veracruz | 6.4 Mw | VIII | 25 | 200 | Severe | |
| 1957-07-28 | Guerrero, Mexico City | 7.9 Ms | VII | 54–160 | Many | Extreme / tsunami | [17] |
| 1941-04-15 | Colima | 7.6 Mw | IX | 90 | |||
| 1937-07-26 | Puebla, Veracruz | 7.3 Ms | IX | 34 | |||
| 1932-06-22 | Colima | 7.0 Mw | VIII | Tsunami | |||
| 1932-06-18 | Colima | 7.8 Mw | VIII | Tsunami | |||
| 1932-06-03 | Jalisco | 8.1 Mw | X | 400 | Tsunami | ||
| 1931-01-15 | Oaxaca | 7.8 Mw | X | 114 | |||
| 1920-01-03 | Puebla, Veracruz | 6.4 Ms | X–XII | 648–4,000 | 167 | [17] | |
| 1912-11-19 | State of Mexico | 7.0 | VIII | 140 | [18] | ||
| 1911-12-16 | Guerrero | 7.6 | IX | ||||
| 1911-06-07 | Michoacán | 7.6 | IX | 45 | |||
| 1909-07-30 | Guerrero | 7.6 | IX | ||||
| 1907-04-15 | Guerrero | 7.7 | VIII | ||||
| 1900-01-20 | Colima | 7.4 | VII | ||||
| 1899-01-24 | Guerrero | 7.5 | VII | ||||
| 1897-06-05 | Oaxaca | 7.4 | VII | ||||
| 1894-11-02 | Guerrero, Oaxaca | 7.4 | VIII | ||||
| 1892-02-24 | Baja California | 7.1–7.2 | X | 0 | |||
| 1890-12-02 | Guerrero, Oaxaca | 7.3 | VII | ||||
| 1889-09-06 | Guerrero | 7.1 | VI | ||||
| 1887-05-29 | Guerrero | 7.3 | VIII | ||||
| 1887-05-03 | Sonora | 7.6 Mw | 51 | ||||
| 1882-07-19 | Guerrero, Oaxaca | 7.5 | IX | ||||
| 1879-05-17 | Puebla | 7.1 | VIII | ||||
| 1875-03-09 | Colima, Jalisco | 7.4 | VII | ||||
| 1875-02-11 | Jalisco | 7.5 | VIII | ||||
| 1874-03-16 | Guerrero | 7.3 | VII | ||||
| 1872-03-27 | Oaxaca | 7.4 | VI | ||||
| 1870-05-11 | Oaxaca | 7.8 | IX | ||||
| 1864-10-03 | Puebla, Veracruz | 7.3 | VIII | ||||
| 1858-06-19 | Michoacán | 7.5 | IX | "Temblor de Santa Juliana" | [19] | ||
| 1854-05-05 | Oaxaca | 7.7 | VIII | ||||
| 1852-12-04 | Acapulco | 7.8 | |||||
| 1845-04-07 | Guerrero | 7.9 Ms | "Temblor de Santa Teresa" | [20] [19] | |||
| 1852-11-29 | Baja California | 6.5 MLa | IX | [21] | |||
| 1845-03-09 | Oaxaca | 7.5 | VII | ||||
| 1837-11-22 | Jalisco | 7.7 | IX | ||||
| 1835-01-06 | State of Mexico | VII? | |||||
| 1820-05-04 | Guerrero | 7.6 | VII | ||||
| 1818-05-31 | Colima, Michoacán | 7.7 | VIII | ||||
| 1806-03-25 | Colima, Michoacán | 7.5 Ms | [20] | ||||
| 1800-03-08 | Central, Eastern, and Southeastern | VII | |||||
| 1787-03-28 | Guerrero, Oaxaca, Mexico City | 8.6 Mw | Severe / tsunami | ||||
| 1776-04-21 | Mexico City, Southern | VIII | |||||
| Stover & Coffman 1993 uses various seismic scales. MLa is a local magnitude that is equivalent to ML (Richter scale) and is used for events that occurred prior to the instrumental period. It is based on the area of perceptibility (as presented on isoseismal maps). Mw = moment magnitude scale and Ms = surface-wave magnitude. The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described are also applicable to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded. | |||||||
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area and the deaths of at least 5,000 people. The sequence of events included a foreshock of magnitude 5.2 that occurred the prior May, the main shock on 19 September, and two large aftershocks. The first of these occurred on 20 September with a magnitude of 7.5 and the second occurred seven months later on 30 April 1986 with a magnitude of 7.0. They were located off the coast along the Middle America Trench, more than 350 kilometres (220 mi) away, but the city suffered major damage due to its large magnitude and the ancient lake bed on which Mexico City sits. The event caused between three and five billion USD in damage as 412 buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in the city.
The 2010 Oaxaca earthquake struck Oaxaca, Mexico on June 30, 2010, with an Mw magnitude of 6.3. Many people in different cities left their beds and ran into the street, as the quake struck at 2:22 am.
The 2011 Guerrero earthquake struck with a moment magnitude of 5.7 in southern Mexico at 08:24 local time on 5 May. It was positioned west of Ometepec, Guerrero, with a focal depth of 24 km (14.9 mi), and was lightly felt in many adjacent areas.
The 2012 Guerrero–Oaxaca earthquake struck southern Mexico with a moment magnitude of 7.4 at 12:02 local time on Tuesday, 20 March. Its epicenter was near Ometepec, in the border between the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. With a shallow focus of 20 km, the earthquake caused strong shaking over a large area along the Oaxaca–Guerrero border and the adjacent Pacific coastline. Significant tremors were felt in areas up to several hundred kilometers away, including Mexico City and also in Guatemala. Two people were killed and over 30,000 houses were damaged or destroyed.
The 2012 Guatemala earthquake occurred on November 7 at 10:35:45 local time. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of VII. The epicenter was located in the Pacific Ocean, 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Champerico in the department of Retalhuleu. The affected region is earthquake-prone, where the Cocos plate is being subducted along the Middle America Trench beneath the North American and the Caribbean plates, near their triple junction.
The 2017 Chiapas earthquake struck at 23:49 CDT on 7 September in the Gulf of Tehuantepec off the southern coast of Mexico near the state of Chiapas, approximately 87 kilometres (54 mi) southwest of Pijijiapan, with a Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The moment magnitude was estimated to be Mw8.2.
The 2017 Puebla earthquake, also known as 19S, struck at 13:14 CDT on 19 September 2017 with an estimated magnitude of 7.1 Mw and strong shaking for about 20 seconds. Its epicenter was about 55 km (34 mi) south of the city of Puebla, Mexico. The earthquake caused damage in the Mexican states of Puebla and Morelos and in the Greater Mexico City area, including the collapse of more than 40 buildings. 370 people were killed by the earthquake and related building collapses, including 228 in Mexico City, and more than 6,000 were injured.
The Valparaíso earthquake of April 2017 was a strong earthquake that shook the cities of Valparaíso and Santiago on Monday, April 24, 2017, at 18:38 local time. Its epicenter was located off the coast of the Valparaíso Region and had a magnitude of 6.9 Mw. On the scale of Mercalli, the earthquake reached an intensity of VII.
The 1982 Ometepec earthquake that struck Mexico's southwestern coast near Ometepec (Guerrero) on 7 June was a doublet earthquake that ruptured in two steps. The first happened at 06:52 UTC, the second five hours later at 10:59 UTC. Estimated magnitudes are 6.9 and 7.0 on the Ms scale, and 5.8 and 6.0 on the mb scale. The maximum Mercalli intensities were VII and VIII, respectively.
An earthquake struck the Mexican state of Oaxaca at 10:29 local time on June 23, 2020, with a magnitude of 7.4 Mw. The epicenter was 19 miles (31 km) from San Miguel del Puerto and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) south-southwest of Santa María Zapotitlán. The quake was felt by an estimated 49 million people in Mexico and Guatemala, with some tremors felt as far away as 640 kilometers (400 mi). Thousands of houses in Oaxaca were damaged and 10 deaths were reported. A tsunami warning was issued for southern Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
A moment magnitude 6.3–6.4 earthquake affected parts of Puebla and Veracruz towards the eastern end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico on 3 January 1920 at 22:25 CST. A maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of XI–XII (Extreme) was recorded in the epicenter, between Chilchotla and Patlanalán. The earthquake killed between 648 and 4,000 people; many deaths were attributed to mudslides that swept through settlements along the Huitzilapa and Pescado rivers. Many buildings were badly damaged or totally ruined. The towns of Patlanalá, Barranca Grande, Cosautlán, Quimixtlán and Teocelo were severely affected. Wooden jacales generally performed well during the earthquake but some were destroyed. The total cost of damage was estimated at US$25,000,000.
The 1979 Petatlán earthquake, also known as the IBERO earthquake occurred on March 14 at 05:07 local time in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The earthquake had a surface-wave magnitude of Ms 7.6 or moment magnitude of Mw 7.4 and maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The epicenter, onshore, was located 12 km south southeast of Vallecitos de Zaragoza.
A moment magnitude Mw 7.0 or 7.1 earthquake occurred near the city of Acapulco in the Mexican state of Guerrero at 20:47 local time on 7 September with an estimated intensity of VIII (Severe) on the MMI scale. The earthquake killed 13 people and injured at least 23 others. At least 1.6 million people in Mexico were affected by the earthquake which resulted in localized severe damage. The earthquake occurred on the anniversary of the 2017 Chiapas earthquake which measured Mw 8.2. It was also the largest earthquake in Mexico since the 2020 Oaxaca earthquake.
A major earthquake struck northern Peru on November 28, 2021, 5:52 a.m. local time with a magnitude of 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale between the Amazonas and Loreto departments of Peru. A maximum Modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) of VII was reported in the town of Santa Maria de Nieva according to the Geological Institute of Peru.
The 2022 Guatemala earthquake occurred on the early morning of February 16, 2022 in the southern regions of Guatemala. The quake measured a moment magnitude of 6.2 and reached a peak intensity of VI (Strong) on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. Damage was widespread but light in and around the capital, Guatemala City, resulting mostly in cracked walls and rockslides.
The 1959 Coatzacoalcos earthquake occurred at 02:25 local time on August 26 near the Mexican state of Veracruz. The earthquake measured 6.4 Mw at a depth of 21 km (13 mi), and had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). It had an epicenter immediately off the coast of Coatzacoalcos. The shallow back-arc thrust faulting earthquake damaged the cities of Acayucan, Coatzacoalcos, Jáltipan and Minatitlán. A total of 25 people died, including 10 from Jáltipan while a further 200 were injured. The Middle America Trench, a subduction zone that borders the southwestern coast of Mexico and Central America, accounts for much of the seismicity in Mexico. The eastern side of the country near the Gulf of Mexico rarely experiences large earthquakes although they have been recorded around the Veracruz area, where seismicity is higher compared to other parts of the gulf. Seismicity in the gulf is attributed to back-arc compression due to subduction.
The 1912 Acambay earthquake struck the State of Mexico on 19 November at 07:55 local time. It had a moment magnitude of 6.7–6.9 Mw and an epicenter near the town of Acambay, 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Mexico City. Up to 161 people died and there was severe destruction. It is regarded as one of the most important earthquakes in Mexico's seismological history, having been widely studied.
On 19 September 2022, a moment magnitude 7.6-7.7 earthquake struck between the Mexican states of Michoacán and Colima at 13:05:06 local time. The earthquake had a depth of 26.9 km (16.7 mi), resulting in a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. The USGS reported the epicentre was 35 km (22 mi) southwest of the town of Aquila. Two people were killed and at least 35 others were injured across several states. A magnitude 6.8 aftershock struck on 22 September, causing three more deaths.
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