Moderate magnitude 4.5 earthquake at 40 km depth2 Jan 06:35 UTC: First to report: INETER after 7 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeJan 2, 2026 06:28:03 UTC - Local time at epicenter2026-01-02 00:28:03Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.5Depth40 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude12.871°N / 88.776°WEl SalvadorSeismic antipode12.871°S / 91.224°EShaking intensityIII Weak shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceINETERNearest volcanoTaburete (68 km / 42 mi)Estimated seismic energy released3.5 x 1011 joules (98.6 megawatt hours, equivalent to 84.8 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.5 | about seismic energy8 minutes agoJan 2, 2026 06:28 GMT / 2026-01-02 00:28:03Lat / Lng: 12.871 / -88.776: 43 km Al Sur De Delta Del Rio Lempa, El SalvadorSource: INETERDetail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22565781',12.87100,-88.77600,'8 minutes ago: Mag. 4.5, 43 km Al Sur De Delta Del Rio Lempa, El Salvador',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in El SalvadorNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is San Miguel, a city with more than 250,000 inhabitants in El Salvador, in 94 km (58 mi) distance northeast of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. Many smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of El Salvador, San Salvador, 101 km (63 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as weak shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry52 km (32 mi)NE of epicenterPuerto El Triunfo(pop: 19,100)III: WeakDepartamento de UsulutanEl Salvador64 km (40 mi)NE of epicenterUsulutan(pop: 51,900)III: WeakDepartamento de UsulutanEl Salvador65 km (41 mi)N of epicenterSan Agustin(pop: 2,150)III: WeakDepartamento de UsulutanEl Salvador71 km (44 mi)NE of epicenterJucuaran(pop: 1,640)III: WeakDepartamento de UsulutanEl Salvador73 km (46 mi)NE of epicenterSan Rafael Oriente(pop: 19,100)III: WeakDepartamento de San MiguelEl Salvador74 km (46 mi)N of epicenterSantiago Nonualco(pop: 9,490)III: WeakDepartamento de La PazEl Salvador75 km (46 mi)N of epicenterBerlin(pop: 11,300)III: WeakDepartamento de UsulutanEl Salvador76 km (47 mi)NE of epicenterSantiago de Maria(pop: 15,000)III: WeakDepartamento de UsulutanEl Salvador79 km (49 mi)NE of epicenterChirilagua(pop: 6,390)III: WeakDepartamento de San MiguelEl Salvador80 km (50 mi)N of epicenterSan Pedro Masahuat(pop: 2,650)III: WeakDepartamento de La PazEl Salvador84 km (52 mi)NE of epicenterJucuapa(pop: 10,600)III: WeakDepartamento de UsulutanEl Salvador86 km (53 mi)N of epicenterSan Vicente(pop: 41,500)III: WeakDepartamento de San VicenteEl Salvador91 km (56 mi)NW of epicenterLa Libertad(pop: 16,900)III: WeakDepartamento de La LibertadEl Salvador94 km (58 mi)NE of epicenterSan Miguel(pop: 247,100)III: WeakDepartamento de San MiguelEl Salvador94 km (58 mi)NW of epicenterSanto Tomas(pop: 14,600)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador96 km (60 mi)N of epicenterCojutepeque(pop: 48,400)III: WeakDepartamento de CuscatlanEl Salvador96 km (60 mi)N of epicenterSan Sebastian(pop: 7,330)III: WeakDepartamento de San VicenteEl Salvador97 km (60 mi)NW of epicenterZaragoza(pop: 11,700)III: WeakDepartamento de La LibertadEl Salvador98 km (61 mi)NW of epicenterSan Marcos(pop: 54,600)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador99 km (62 mi)N of epicenterIlopango(pop: 38,900)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador101 km (63 mi)NW of epicenterSan Salvador(pop: 526,000)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador101 km (63 mi)NW of epicenterSoyapango(pop: 329,700)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador102 km (64 mi)NW of epicenterAntiguo Cuscatlan(pop: 33,800)III: WeakDepartamento de La LibertadEl Salvador103 km (64 mi)N of epicenterSan Martin(pop: 39,400)III: WeakDepartamento de CuscatlanEl Salvador104 km (64 mi)NW of epicenterDelgado(pop: 71,600)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador105 km (65 mi)NW of epicenterMejicanos(pop: 160,300)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador105 km (65 mi)NW of epicenterCuscatancingo(pop: 44,400)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador105 km (65 mi)NW of epicenterSanta Tecla(pop: 124,700)III: WeakDepartamento de La LibertadEl Salvador107 km (66 mi)NW of epicenterAyutuxtepeque(pop: 25,400)III: WeakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador113 km (70 mi)NW of epicenterApopa(pop: 112,200)II: Very weakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador113 km (70 mi)N of epicenterSensuntepeque(pop: 20,400)II: Very weakDepartamento de CabanasEl Salvador114 km (71 mi)NE of epicenterLa Union(pop: 26,800)II: Very weakDepartamento de La UnionEl Salvador117 km (73 mi)NE of epicenterSan Francisco(pop: 16,200)II: Very weakDepartamento de MorazanEl Salvador120 km (74 mi)NW of epicenterQuezaltepeque(pop: 28,900)II: Very weakQuezaltepeque, Departamento de La LibertadEl Salvador129 km (80 mi)N of epicenterAguilares(pop: 21,400)II: Very weakDepartamento de San SalvadorEl Salvador131 km (82 mi)N of epicenterChalatenango(pop: 19,400)II: Very weakDepartamento de ChalatenangoEl Salvador139 km (86 mi)NW of epicenterSonsonate(pop: 59,500)II: Very weakDepartamento de SonsonateEl Salvador150 km (93 mi)NW of epicenterSanta Ana(pop: 176,700)II: Very weakDepartamento de Santa AnaEl Salvador158 km (98 mi)NW of epicenterChalchuapa(pop: 32,300)II: Very weakDepartamento de Santa AnaEl Salvador164 km (102 mi)NW of epicenterAhuachapan(pop: 34,100)II: Very weakDepartamento de AhuachapanEl SalvadorNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Compare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-01-2EpicenterAgency4.540 km25 mi06:28:0343 Km al sur de Delta del Rio Lempa, El SalvadorINETERAftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 3 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 3 km (2 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)2026-01-02 00:28:038 minutes ago4.540 km0 km - This quake43 km Al Sur De Delta Del Rio Lempa, El SalvadorMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 993 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.04 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 25 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.21 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 4.8 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 4.5 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 91 quakes per year (or 7.6 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 513 quakes per year (or 43 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 964 quakes per year (or 80 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 991 quakes per year (or 83 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 5 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 25 to 30 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake