May 18, 1980 Earthquake: S Coast, Guatemala

Date

May 18, 1980

Time

07:09:38 UTC

Place

S Coast, Guatemala

Magnitude

5.3 (mb)

Focal depth

105 km (65 mi)

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

14.716° N, 91.317° W

Country

Guatemala

Damage

Limited (under about $1 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.

• December 26, 1917, Guatemala CityM6 · 2,650 deaths · 78 km
• April 19, 1902, Quezaltenango, San Marcos, GuatemalaM7.5 · 2,000 deaths · 87 km
• June 3, 1773, St. Jago, Guatemala600 deaths · 68 km
• September 3, 1874, Antigua,chimaltenango,amatitlan, GuatemalaM7.1 · 300 deaths · 71 km
• July 29, 1773, Antigua, GuatemalaM7.5 · 100 deaths · 68 km
• November 7, 2012, San Marcos, San Cristobal Cochu, GuatemalaM7.3 · 48 deaths · $210 million · 2,769 houses destroyed · 102 km
• September 18, 1991, Guatemala City, Pachuta, SololaM6.2 · 25 deaths · 36 km
• July 22, 1816, Soloma, GuatemalaM7.5 · 23 deaths · 89 km
• September 25, 1968, S Chiapas, Mexico-GuatemalaM6.1 · 20 deaths · 162 km
• July 29, 1978, Patzun, GuatemalaM4.5 · 17 deaths · 35 km
• July 8, 2025, Guatemala City, Escuintla, SacatepequezM5.7 · 7 deaths · 531 houses destroyed · 77 km
• June 14, 2017, Quetzaltenango, Suchitepequez, Mexico, GuatemalaM6.9 · 5 deaths · 77 km
• November 3, 1988, S Palin, San Vicente Pacaya, GuatemalaM6 · 5 deaths · 132 km
• March 13, 1976, GuatemalaM5.1 · 4 deaths · 28 km
• October 27, 1979, GuatemalaM6.8 · 4 deaths · 109 km

Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 4874.