4.6 Earthquake

Date & time: Feb 12, 2022 03:39:29 UTC - 9 hours ago
Local time at epicenter: Friday, Feb 11, 2022 at 9:39 pm (GMT -6)
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 26.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 17.55°N / 101.78°W (North Pacific Ocean, Mexico)
Antipode: 17.55°S / 78.22°E
Nearest volcano: Paricutín (Michoacán-Guanajuato) (222 km / 138 mi)

Mexico is one of the most seismically active regions in the world as it is located at the boundary of at least three tectonic plates.

Chris and I have felt weak earthquakes several times while we have been in Mexico. The first time, I remember feeling one was when we were teaching in Zamora, Michoacan. It was at the end of September 1999 and a big earthquake had just occurred in Puerto Angel, Oaxaca. I was sitting at a computer, and even though the earthquake was 1,000 km away, I suddenly had a very strange sensation of being disoriented. No shaking, just a very whooshy type of feeling.

Amy, our daughter, experienced two big earthquakes, one in Oaxaca when she was on a student exchange and one in Japan, when she was teaching there. People ran out of the buildings they were in and into the streets.

The earthquake last night was moderate. At 9:40 p.m. there was a very loud noise like a very heavy truck rumbling along and then the shaking started and that lasted for about 5 seconds. Lights flickered but didn’t go off. It doesn’t sound like a long time but when you don’t know what’s going on, 5 seconds is long enough.

Following that one, there was another one at 3 a.m. Dogs started barking and it woke us up but it was pretty mild.

Following the first one, I checked the internet to see if anyone had had the same experience and I noticed an alert for this area at the top of my Google search page and what to do following an earthquake. One statement said to stay away from the ocean. We are far enough away but we did hear the waves roaring.Read more