Reported by EMSC6d ago
M3.4 earthquake in Central Peru
Monday, September 21, 2026, 00:19:56 UTC · 9.330°S, 77.640°W
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck in Central Peru on Monday, September 21, 2026, 00:19:56 UTC, at a depth of 13.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Minor · m
- Depth
- 13 km
- Shallow
- Reported by
- EMSC
- Agency LIM
- Nearest tracker
- 25 km
- from Huaraz
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2 tons of TNT
That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
271 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
13 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS and EMSC have not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 249 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.221 km SE of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 211 km S of this epicenter
- 8.167 km W of Paramonga, PeruOctober 17, 1966 · 177 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.934 km SW of Chimbote, PeruMay 31, 1970 · 133 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5123 km WSW of Puerto Santa, PeruFebruary 21, 1996 · 216 km W of this epicenter
- 7.155 km SW of Santiago de Cao, PeruJune 21, 1937 · 248 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0179 km WSW of Huarmey, PeruSeptember 3, 1967 · 268 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.928 km W of Paramonga, PeruSeptember 24, 1963 · 155 km S of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SSW of Quiches, PeruNovember 10, 1946 · 99 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 75,391 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1970M7.9
Northern, Pisco, Chiclayo
31 May 1970 · 128 km away · intensity X
66,794 deaths$530 million damagetsunami
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 300 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1725M7.7
Trujillo, Ancash, Lima
7 Jan 1725 · 154 km away · intensity IX
1,500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1946M7.3
Jocaibamba,Cerro Angaschaj,Cerro Sillapata
10 Nov 1946 · 94 km away · intensity XI
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 148 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1966M8.1
Lima,Huacho,Huaura, Chancay,Supe,San Nicolas
17 Oct 1966 · 192 km away · intensity IX
110 deaths$35 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.