M5.5 Earthquake 20 km ESE of Cárdenas, Nicaragua — April 17, 2024
2024-04-17 21:21:54 UTC (2024-04-17) · approx. 3:21 PM UTC-6 local
Felt by 81 people across nearby locations.
On April 17, 2024 at 21:21 UTC, a magnitude 5.5 intermediate depth earthquake struck 20 km ESE of Cárdenas, Nicaragua, at a depth of 154.0 km and coordinates 11.1271°, -85.3325°. The earthquake was reported felt by 81 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 3.8 (light). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 256 seismic stations with good location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 499, placing it among routine seismic activity. The nearest populated place is San Jose (population 31,430).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 3 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 3.8 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 81 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 7,701,060 |
| MMI 4 | light | 1,095,994 |
Earthquake Details
-85.3325°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.5 earthquake near Cárdenas, Nicaragua?
The magnitude 5.5 earthquake that struck 20 km ESE of Cárdenas, Nicaragua on April 17, 2024 at 21:21 UTC had a depth of 154.0 km. It was felt by 81 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 3.8 (light). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 11.1271°, -85.3325°, which is 20 km ESE of Cárdenas, Nicaragua. The nearest populated place is San Jose (population 31,430).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.5 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000mcrs). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, April 17, 2024). M5.5 Earthquake 20 km ESE of Cárdenas, Nicaragua — April 17, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000mcrs/