Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake Strikes Chiapas and Tabasco States in Mexico

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Southern Mexico States of Chiapas and Tabasco were shaken by an earthquake of magnitude 5.9, the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) reported.

The quake hit at a shallow depth of 17 km beneath the epicenter early morning on Sunday November 29th, at 2.07 am local time. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface.

Magnitude and other quake parameters can still change in the coming hours as the agency continues to process seismic data.

Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been felt by everybody in the area of the epicenter. In those areas, dangerous ground shaking occurred with the potential to inflict moderate to heavy damage to buildings and other infrastructure.

Towns or cities where the quake likely caused strong ground shaking

Weak shaking might have been felt in Villahermosa (pop. 353,600) in the state of Tabasco, located 73 km from the epicenter, Tuxtla Gutiérrez (pop. 537,100) 93 km away, and Ciudad del Carmen (pop. 169,500) 158 km away.

VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available.