January 12, 1982 Earthquake: Ampala, Masaya, Honduras
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Ampala, Masaya, Honduras on January 12, 1982 at 05:48:17 UTC, 6 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
- January 12, 1982
- Time
- 05:48:17 UTC
- Place
- Ampala, Masaya, Honduras
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 6 km (4 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 13.158° N, 87.589° W
- Country
- Honduras
The toll
- Injuries
- 2
- 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.
Two people injured and moderate damage at Amapala. Slight damage at Masaya, Nicaragua. Felt on southern Honduras and western Nicaragua. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 23, 1972, Managua, Nicaragua
- May 6, 1951, Jucuapa, El Salvador
- October 10, 1986, San Salvador, El Salvador
- April 14, 1854, San Salvador, El Salvador
- March 31, 1930, Managua, Nicaragua
- January 13, 2001, El Salvador, Guatemala
- March 4, 1873, Santa Tomas, San Vicente, El Salvador
- December 19, 1936, San Vicente, El Salvador
- February 13, 2001, San Juan Tepezontes-San Vicente-Cojutep, El Salvador
- April 11, 1873, Salvador,san Vicente, El Salvador
- September 2, 1992, Masachapa, Costa Rica, Nicaragua
- May 3, 1965, San Marcos, El Salvador
- April 20, 1765, Chiquimula, El Salvador, Guatemala
- June 19, 1982, San Salvador, Guatemala, El Salvador
- April 21, 1594, San Salvador, El Salvador
More
Significant earthquakes of 1982The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1982Recent 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 4937.