M6.4 earthquake 4 km NW of Sabanillas, Mexico
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 4 km NW of Sabanillas, Mexico on Sat, Mar 18, 1978, 7:39 PM CST (01:39 UTC), 36 km (22 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Ms, surface-wave), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-03-19 01:39:14 UTC
- Depth
- 36.0 km (22.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 17.026° N, 99.735° W
- Region
- Mexico
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.4 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 6.57 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 4795), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 25
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 14.9% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.5 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Stations used
- 271
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.4 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayMexico earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000tfe (also filed as gcmtc031978a, gcmt19780319013914, atlas19780319013916, iscgem685150). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 2:18 PM UTC.