A magnitude 4.3 earthquake was reported only 15 minutes ago by the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), considered the main national agency that monitors seismic activity in this part of the world. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter in the afternoon on Thursday 12 November 2020 at 4.42 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.

Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in Placencia (pop. 4,300) located 35 km from the epicenter, Punta Gorda (pop. 5,200) 64 km away, and Dangriga (pop. 10,800) 82 km away.