​Seismologists say the mass celebration by Mexican fans after their World Cup win over Ecuador triggered notable tremors. Mexico’s Digital Platform for Early Warning and Comprehensive Risk Management (SASSLA) reported that the outburst of euphoria and cheering from fans following Julian Quiñones’ goal and later Raúl Jiménez’s goal generated vibrations in the local area. The goals were recorded on several seismographs, including the first at Quiñones’ and the second at Jiménez’s in the 31st minute. In Mexico City, nearly a million fans poured into the streets, and three people were crushed to death in the celebrations after Mexico qualified for the knockout stage.
These so-called “human-induced earthquakes” occur when intense activities, such as large crowds jumping and stamping, generate short, surface-level waves. SASSLA noted that the Azteca Stadium’s nearest RaspberryShake station picked up an “outstanding artificial signal,” with the collective jumps producing vibrations in the ground. A seismology group, Sismo Alerta Mexicana, explained that while these are not real earthquakes, the rapid, synchronized ground impact from mass jumping can be detected by sensitive instruments and sometimes resemble tremors.
The phenomenon is well-documented: major sports events and concerts have produced similar signals. For example, a Taylor Swift concert in 2023 with more than 70,000 attendees generated strong seismic vibrations within about 9 kilometers of the venue. Scientists emphasize that crowd motion in response to music or excitement is often the primary source of these signals, detectable by seismographs designed to monitor earthquakes worldwide.