How frequent are earthquakes in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi)?

Q: How frequent are earthquakes in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi)?

The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. Based on data from the past 54 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 56 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi). It has had at least 4 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 30 to 35 years.

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Mag. 3.8 earthquake - Mexico: 10 Km Al NORESTE De CUERNAVACA, MOR, on Monday, Oct 16, 2023, at 07:19 am (Mexico City time) -

A moderate magnitude 3.8 earthquake hit 9.6 km (6 mi) away from Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, in the morning of Monday, Oct 16, 2023 at 7.19 am local time (America/Mexico City GMT -6). The quake had a very shallow depth of 3 km (1.9 mi) and was reported felt by some people near the epicenter.

Mag. 3.8 earthquake - Mexico: 10 Km Al NORESTE De CUERNAVACA, MOR, on Monday, Oct 16, 2023, at 07:19 am (Mexico City time)

Light magnitude 3.8 earthquake at 3 km depth

16 Oct 17:14 UTC: First to report: SSN after 4 hours.

Earthquake details

Date & time	Oct 16, 2023 13:19:39 UTC -
Local time at epicenter	Monday, Oct 16, 2023, at 07:19 am (America/Mexico City GMT -6)
Status	Preliminary (automatic detection)
Magnitude	3.8
Depth	3 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	19.01°N / 99.21°W Huitzilac, Morelos, Mexico
Seismic antipode	19.01°S / 80.79°E
Shaking intensity	V Moderate shaking near epicenter
Felt	2 reports
Primary data source	SSN (Servicio Sismológico Nacional)
Nearest volcano	Chichinautzin (11 km / 7 mi)
Weather at epicenter at time of quake
Estimated seismic energy released	3.2 x 10¹⁰ joules (8.78 megawatt hours, equivalent to 7.56 tons of TNT) \| about seismic energy

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Nearby places

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Mexico, the capital of

Mexico with 12,000,000 inhabitants, in 47 km (29 mi) distance north of the epicenter. People likely experienced very weak shaking there. Many smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking.
The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.

Distance	Place	Max. shaking intensity(*)	Region	Country
6 km (4 mi) NW of epicenter	Tres Marias (pop: 6,160)	IV: Light	Huitzilac, Morelos	Mexico
10 km (6 mi) S of epicenter	Cuernavaca (pop: 338,700)	IV: Light	Morelos	Mexico
15 km (9 mi) S of epicenter	Jiutepec (pop: 162,400)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
16 km (10 mi) S of epicenter	Tres de Mayo (pop: 18,000)	III: Weak	Emiliano Zapata, Morelos	Mexico
18 km (11 mi) S of epicenter	Temixco (pop: 97,800)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
19 km (12 mi) S of epicenter	Emiliano Zapata (pop: 49,200)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
21 km (13 mi) SE of epicenter	Yautepec (pop: 42,700)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
23 km (14 mi) N of epicenter	San Miguel Topilejo (pop: 34,600)	III: Weak	Tlalpan, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
24 km (15 mi) NE of epicenter	San Pablo Oztotepec (pop: 15,500)	III: Weak	Milpa Alta, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
26 km (16 mi) S of epicenter	Xochitepec (pop: 19,200)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
28 km (18 mi) NE of epicenter	Milpa Alta (pop: 18,300)	III: Weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
29 km (18 mi) N of epicenter	Xochimilco (pop: 407,900)	III: Weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
32 km (20 mi) N of epicenter	Tlalpan (pop: 574,600)	III: Weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
33 km (20 mi) NE of epicenter	San Antonio Tecomitl (pop: 24,400)	III: Weak	Milpa Alta, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
33 km (21 mi) NE of epicenter	San Juan Ixtayopan (pop: 24,100)	III: Weak	Tlahuac, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
35 km (21 mi) S of epicenter	Santa Rosa Treinta (pop: 16,700)	III: Weak	Tlaltizapan de Zapata, Morelos	Mexico
36 km (22 mi) N of epicenter	Magdalena Contreras (pop: 238,400)	III: Weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
36 km (23 mi) SE of epicenter	Cuautla (pop: 154,400)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
36 km (23 mi) S of epicenter	Xoxocotla (pop: 21,100)	III: Weak	Puente de Ixtla, Morelos	Mexico
38 km (23 mi) NE of epicenter	Tlahuac (pop: 305,100)	III: Weak	Tlahuac, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
38 km (23 mi) N of epicenter	Coyoacan (pop: 620,400)	III: Weak	Coyoacan, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
39 km (24 mi) E of epicenter	Yecapixtla (pop: 16,800)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
40 km (25 mi) S of epicenter	Zacatepec de Hidalgo (pop: 21,600)	III: Weak	Zacatepec, Morelos	Mexico
40 km (25 mi) NE of epicenter	San Miguel Xico (pop: 356,400)	III: Weak	Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, Mexico	Mexico
41 km (25 mi) N of epicenter	Delegacion Cuajimalpa de Morelos (pop: 160,500)	III: Weak	Cuajimalpa de Morelos, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
41 km (26 mi) N of epicenter	Iztapalapa (pop: 1,815,800)	III: Weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
42 km (26 mi) N of epicenter	Huixquilucan (pop: 124,800)	III: Weak	Mexico	Mexico
42 km (26 mi) S of epicenter	Tlaquiltenango (pop: 18,300)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
43 km (27 mi) NE of epicenter	Chalco (pop: 168,700)	III: Weak	Mexico	Mexico
44 km (27 mi) N of epicenter	Benito Juarez (pop: 355,000)	III: Weak	Benito Juarez, Mexico D.F.	Mexico
44 km (28 mi) NW of epicenter	San Mateo Atenco (pop: 67,900)	III: Weak	Mexico	Mexico
44 km (28 mi) N of epicenter	Iztacalco (pop: 384,300)	III: Weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
45 km (28 mi) S of epicenter	Puente de Ixtla (pop: 21,100)	III: Weak	Morelos	Mexico
46 km (29 mi) NE of epicenter	Los Reyes Acaquilpan (pop: 85,400)	II: Very weak	La Paz, Mexico	Mexico
47 km (29 mi) N of epicenter	Miguel Hidalgo (pop: 372,900)	II: Very weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
47 km (29 mi) N of epicenter	Mexico (pop: 12,294,200)	II: Very weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico
48 km (30 mi) NE of epicenter	Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl (pop: 1,104,600)	II: Very weak	Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico	Mexico
48 km (30 mi) NE of epicenter	Ixtapaluca (pop: 322,300)	II: Very weak	Mexico	Mexico
49 km (30 mi) NW of epicenter	San Salvador Tizatlalli (pop: 61,400)	II: Very weak	Metepec, Mexico	Mexico
49 km (30 mi) N of epicenter	Cuauhtémoc (pop: 531,800)	II: Very weak	Mexico D.F.	Mexico

Notes:
(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.

User-reports for this quake (2)

We received 2 reports for this quake.

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Mexico City Hotel Galeria Plaza Reforma / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : significant shaking and vibration

What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?

The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.
Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.
Read more about the MMI scale!

Compare Quake Data

Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies

The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag	Depth	Time GMT 2023-10-16	Epicenter	Agency
3.8	3 km 1.9 mi	13:19:39	Mexico: 10 Km Al NORESTE De CUERNAVACA, MOR	SSN (Servicio Sismológico Nacional)
3.8	3 km 1.9 mi	13:19:39	Central Mexico 0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with SSN	RaspberryShake (RaspberryShake)
3.8	3 km 1.9 mi	13:19:39	Morelos, Mexico 0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with SSN	EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)

Seismograms

Seismic station: Unam - Mexico, Mexico (UNM/G network) | Distance from quake: 36 km / 22 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Unam - Mexico, Mexico: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.5-10.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Earthquake statistics

Average number of earthquakes

Based on data from the past 54 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 56 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):

Mag. 6 or higher: 0.03 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 31.3 years)
Mag. 5 or higher: 0.11 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 9.4 years)
Mag. 4 or higher: 0.68 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 1.5 years)
Mag. 3 or higher: 29 quakes per year
Mag. 2 or higher: 42 quakes per year (or 3.5 quakes per month)
Mag. 1 or higher: 55 quakes per year (or 4.6 quakes per month)

The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 4 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 30 to 35 years.

Number of quakes per year

Previous quakes in the same area of this earthquake

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