Seismic Event Dossier•19:16 Local (00:16 UTC)(34y ago)

M 7.7 earthquake
Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua)

A magnitude 7.7 (MW) earthquake occurred on 1992-09-02, 19:16 local time (00:16 UTC) (34y ago), centered Caribbean Sea (92 km SW of León, Nicaragua). The hypocenter was located at a intermediate depth of 44.8 km. Primary telemetry verified by USGS.

Historical Landmark Earthquake

#97 of All Time

Curated Global Seismic Archive (1700–Present)

Top-100 Earthquakes

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck ⁨Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua)⁩ on 2 septembre 1992. Documented deaths: 170.

Documented Fatalities170Source: NOAA NCEI Significant Earthquake Database

Fault KinematicsActive fault

Equivalent Energy5.35 Mt TNT

Magnitude

M 7.7

5.35 Mt TNT

Profondeur

44.8 km

intermediate (35–70 km (intermédiaire))

Impact PAGER

yellow

1 – 10 fatalities

Blessés: 500 – 5,000 · ~47.6M ressenti

Carte interactive de l'épicentre et des failles

11.74°N, 87.34°W

Faille64 km

Segment de faille active

Slip · ~15.0 mm/yr

Felt byMMI III+

~47.6M exposed

~4M strong shaking

Primary SolutionUSGS

USGS#usp0005ddnreviewed

1 agencies reporting

Setting11.7°N

Nicaragua

Caribbean Sea (En mer)

Seismic Activity & Aftershock Sequence

Timeline of foreshocks, main rupture, aftershocks and machine learning risk probability evolution.

Hover or tap a point to inspect aftershocks and risk probability curve.

<35 km (superficiel)35–70 km (intermédiaire)>70 km (profond)Choc principal

Situation Monitoring

Continuous verification

Multi-agency verification of casualties, tsunami alerts, and seismic sequence

Key facts so far

Casualties

None expected (offshore epicenter)

Zero exposed population

Tsunami Status

No tsunami threat

NOAA PTWC & regional buoys

Citizen Felt Reports

Not felt / offshore epicenter

Macroseismic DYFI verification

Aftershock Sequence

Monitoring

Aftershocks expected (Omori law)

LightGBM hazard model forecast

Multi-agency seismic telemetry active. Awaiting wire headlines.

Agency Discrepancy Matrix (Cross-Network Verification)

Comparing multi-network solutions from primary and teleseismic monitoring agencies.

Network / Source	Magnitude (Scale & Diff)	Depth & Diff	Epicenter & Shift (Δd)	Consensus	Event ID / Data
USGS United States Geological Survey · Global / US	M7.7(Mw)Ref	44.8 kmRef	11.74°, -87.34°Origin	Authoritative	usp0005ddn

Why do agency magnitudes differ? Seismological agencies use different instrumentation networks, crustal velocity models, and mathematical magnitude scales (e.g. Moment Magnitude Mw vs Local Richter ML vs Surface Wave Ms). Differences of 0.1–0.3 are common and reflect physical observation geometry rather than errors.

Where it was felt

6 localités

Shaking intensity is modelled from magnitude, depth and distance (GMPE attenuation), not reported by residents.

Town	Distance	Intensity	Population
León · León	92 km	MMI VIII	164,441
Chinandega · Chinandega	101 km	MMI VII	139,023
Managua · Managua	125 km	MMI VII	920,000
Jinotepe · Carazo	125 km	MMI VII	29,507
Masaya · Masaya	138 km	MMI VII	130,113
Granada · Granada	153 km	MMI VII	105,219

Tectonic setting

Nearest mapped active fault: Segment de faille active, 64 km away, slip rate ~15.0 mm/yr (GEM Global Active Faults).

M 7.7 earthquake Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua)