You can see that at the M=8.1 Chiapas epicenter, the quake likely in your lifetime is M~7.75; for the M=7.1 Puebla epicenter, it’s M~6.75. In both cases, the quakes we just experienced are a little larger than what one would expect in a lifetime, in other words, a little less likely than 1% per year. So let’s call the frequency of the M=8.1 and M=7.1 quakes about 0.5% per year. This means that neither can be considered very rare. By comparison, if your home is in the 1% per year zone in the U.S., flood insurance is mandatory if you have a mortgage.

You can see that at the M=8.1 Chiapas epicenter, the quake likely in your lifetime is M~7.75; for the M=7.1 Puebla epicenter, it's M~6.75. In both cases, the quakes we just experienced are a little larger than what one would expect in a lifetime, in other words, a little less likely than 1% per year. So let’s call the frequency of the M=8.1 and M=7.1 quakes about 0.5% per year. This means that neither can be considered very rare. By comparison, if your home is in the 1% per year zone in the U.S., flood insurance is mandatory if you have a mortgage.

You can see that at the M=8.1 Chiapas epicenter, the quake likely in your lifetime is M~7.75; for the M=7.1 Puebla epicenter, it’s M~6.75. In both cases, the quakes we just experienced are a little larger than what one would expect in a lifetime, in other words, a little less likely than 1% per year. So let’s call the frequency of the M=8.1 and M=7.1 quakes about 0.5% per year. This means that neither can be considered very rare. By comparison, if your home is in the 1% per year zone in the U.S., flood insurance is mandatory if you have a mortgage.