This undersea earthquake generated recorded tsunami waves across coastal and trans-oceanic sectors. Preserved in seismic archive for scientific reference — no active hazard exists.
A magnitude 8.0 (MW) earthquake occurred on 1985-09-19, 07:17 local time (13:17 UTC) (15008d ago), centered 43 km NW of Lázaro Cárdenas (Mexico). The hypocenter was located at a shallow depth of 20 km. Primary telemetry verified by USGS/ISC-GEM alongside 2 regional seismic monitoring networks.
Curated Global Seismic Archive (1700–Present)
15.08 Mt TNT
shallow (Shallow crustal)
Injuries: > 5,000 · ~53.4M felt
Timeline of foreshocks, main rupture, aftershocks and machine learning risk probability evolution.
Shaking intensity is modelled from magnitude, depth and distance (GMPE attenuation), not reported by residents.
| Town | Distance | Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| Lázaro Cárdenas · Michoacán | 43 km | MMI IX |
| Apatzingán · Michoacán | 101 km | MMI VIII |
| Uruapan · Michoacán | 145 km | MMI VII |
| Petatlán · Guerrero | 153 km | MMI VII |
| Tecoman · Colima | 164 km | MMI VII |
| Colima · Colima | 171 km | MMI VII |
Independent solutions for the same rupture. Differences of 0.1–0.3 in magnitude are normal and reflect method and station coverage.
| Agency | Source ID | Magnitude | Depth | Epicenter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
USGS Primary | official19850919131747_30 | M 8.0 | 20 km | 18.19, -102.53 |
USGS Primary | usp0002jwe | M 8.0 | 27.9 km | 18.19, -102.53 |
Nearest mapped active fault: Middle America Trench, 5 km away, slip rate ~15.0 mm/yr (GEM Global Active Faults).