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El Salvador earthquakes in 1981

11 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in El Salvador in 1981. The largest: M5.1 72 km SSW of Chirilagua, El Salvador, Jun 7, 1981.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19801982

Map

Where every quake of 1981 was located in El Salvador. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1981

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 198134.94 km SSE of Aguilares, El Salvador
February 198125.097 km S of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador
March 198115.038 km S of El Rosario, El Salvador
April 198115.180 km S of Intipucá, El Salvador
May 19810
June 198115.172 km SSW of Chirilagua, El Salvador
July 19810
August 198114.634 km SSE of Acajutla, El Salvador
September 198114.711 km S of Usulután, El Salvador
October 19810
November 198114.864 km SSW of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador
December 19810

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

El Salvador nowWorldwide in 1981

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.