June 9, 1980 Earthquake: Northwestern Mexico
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Northwestern Mexico on June 9, 1980 at 03:28:18 UTC, 5 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- June 9, 1980
- Time
- 03:28:18 UTC
- Place
- Northwestern Mexico
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 6.4 · mb 5.6
- Focal depth
- 5 km (3 mi)
- Intensity
- V, moderate shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 32.220° N, 114.985° W
- Country
- Mexico
- Region
- North America and Hawaii
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 100
- 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.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.3 | Mw, moment | Southern California Seismic Network | Preferred · Final · 0 stations |
| 6.4 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Reviewed |
| 6.33 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.3 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
- #1054 McClelland, Lindsay, et al, editors (1980-1989). SEAN Bulletin, a monthly publication of the Scientific Event Alert Network of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- #1066 Mengin, O., editor (1980 to Present). UNDRO News, a bimonthly publication of the United Nations Disaster Relief Organization Coordinator, Geneva, Switzerland, 1980 to present.
- #1232 International Seismological Centre (1964-1990). Regional Catalogue of Earthquakes, 1964-1990, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 19, 1940, California, Mexico, United States
- June 23, 1915, El Centro, California, United States
- April 4, 2010, Baja California, Mexico
- November 24, 1987, Superstition Hills, California, United States
- January 1, 1927, California, Mexico, United States
- December 30, 2009, Mexicali, Mexico
- February 22, 2002, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
- February 9, 2008, Baja California, Mexico
- October 15, 1979, Mexicali, Imperial Valley, Mexico, California, United States
- November 29, 1852, N. Mexico
- December 31, 1934, Baja,imperial Valley, California, United States
- February 24, 1892, San Diego, California, Baja California, USA, Mexico
- June 15, 2010, Ocotillo, California, United States
- April 26, 1981, Westmorland,calipatria, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4879. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event ci9730174, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.