October 9, 1979 Earthquake: Guatemala
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck Guatemala on October 9, 1979 at 07:49:29 UTC, 33 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- October 9, 1979
- Time
- 07:49:29 UTC
- Place
- Guatemala
- Magnitude
- 4.7 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 14.321° N, 90.082° W
- Country
- Guatemala
The toll
- Injuries
- 40
- 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Forty persons reported injured and considerable damage (VII) in Santa Rosa and Jutiapa Provinces. Landslides were also reported. Felt (III) at San Salvador, El Salvador. (reference #1053)
October 9, 1979, 07:49 UTC, 5.0 MS, Ixhuatan, 40 injured, 400 homeless. (reference #1177)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 4, 1976, Chimaltenango, Guatemala City
- December 26, 1917, Guatemala City
- April 19, 1902, Quezaltenango, San Marcos, Guatemala
- October 10, 1986, San Salvador, El Salvador
- April 14, 1854, San Salvador, El Salvador
- March 4, 1873, Santa Tomas, San Vicente, El Salvador
- June 3, 1773, St. Jago, Guatemala
- December 19, 1936, San Vicente, El Salvador
- February 13, 2001, San Juan Tepezontes-San Vicente-Cojutep, El Salvador
- September 3, 1874, Antigua,chimaltenango,amatitlan, Guatemala
- April 11, 1873, Salvador,san Vicente, El Salvador
- February 26, 1902, El Salvador-Guatemala
- May 3, 1965, San Marcos, El Salvador
- July 29, 1773, Antigua, Guatemala
- April 20, 1765, Chiquimula, El Salvador, Guatemala
More
Significant earthquakes of 1979The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1979Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4845.