QuakeScout
Magnitude3.3

Reported by EMSC4d ago

M3.3 earthquake in Northern Peru

Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 03:03:05 UTC · 5.700°S, 78.750°W

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck in Northern Peru on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 03:03:05 UTC, at a depth of 19.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.3
Minor · m
Depth
19 km
Shallow
Reported by
EMSC
Agency LIM
Nearest tracker
170 km
from Chiclayo

Outlined circle: this earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1 tons of TNT

That is about 1/11,203 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 355 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

7 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

19 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 268 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.6103 km WSW of Mórrope, PeruNovember 20, 1960 · 268 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.543 km NNW of Barranca, PeruNovember 28, 2021 · 255 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.516 km W of Barranca, PeruSeptember 28, 1906 · 236 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.539 km NW of Yurimaguas, PeruSeptember 26, 2005 · 260 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.323 km N of Bellavista, PeruMay 14, 1928 · 30 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.29 km ENE of Papayal, PeruDecember 10, 1970 · 281 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.251 km N of Barranca, PeruOctober 28, 1997 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.111 km NE of Rioja, PeruApril 5, 1991 · 186 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 477 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1990M6.5

    Moyabamba-Riojo

    30 May 1990 · 172 km away · intensity VI

    200 deaths$1 million damage

  2. 1970M7.6

    N; Ecuador: S

    10 Dec 1970 · 287 km away · intensity X

    82 deaths$6 million damage

  3. 1960M6.7

    Peru

    20 Nov 1960 · 248 km away

    66 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  4. 1991M6.7

    Rioja, Moyobamba, Nueva Cajamarca

    5 Apr 1991 · 186 km away · intensity VII

    53 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1928M7.3

    Chacahpoyas,Huancabamba,Cajamarca,Pinpincos

    14 May 1928 · 31 km away · intensity X

    29 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1968M6.8

    San Martin,Moyobamba,Yantalo,Rioja,Lamas

    19 Jun 1968 · 184 km away

    15 deathsUnder $1 million damage

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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