November 3, 1988 Earthquake: S Palin, San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck S Palin, San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala on November 3, 1988 at 14:47:10 UTC, 69 km below the surface. It killed 5 people.
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
- November 3, 1988
- Time
- 14:47:10 UTC
- Place
- S Palin, San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 69 km (43 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 13.881° N, 90.450° W
- Country
- Guatemala
The toll
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses damaged
- 100 with its tsunami and other effects
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.
Five people killed, some injured and about 100 buildings damaged (VI) in southern Guatemala. Landslides occurred at Palin and in the San Vicente Pacaya area. Damage to roads in Chimaltenango Department. Felt (V) at San Salvador, El Salvador. Felt strongly at Tapachula, (IV) at mexico City and also felt in part of Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico. Felt in parts of Honduras and Managua, Nicaragua. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- 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
- 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
- November 7, 2012, San Marcos, San Cristobal Cochu, Guatemala
- June 19, 1982, San Salvador, Guatemala, El Salvador
More
Significant earthquakes of 1988The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1988Recent 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 5174.