Reviewed by USGSPeru59y ago
M7.0 earthquake 179 km WSW of Huarmey, Peru
Sunday, September 3, 1967, 21:07:28 UTC · 10.640°S, 79.689°W
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 179 km WSW of Huarmey, Peru on Sunday, September 3, 1967, 21:07:28 UTC, at a depth of 12.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.1 on October 17, 1966.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 12 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
26 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
12 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.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 18 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 · 254 km E of this epicenter
- 8.167 km W of Paramonga, PeruOctober 17, 1966 · 136 km E of this epicenter
- 7.155 km SW of Santiago de Cao, PeruJune 21, 1937 · 263 km N of this epicenter
- 6.928 km W of Paramonga, PeruSeptember 24, 1963 · 175 km E of this epicenter
- 6.710 km SSW of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 233 km E of this epicenter
- 6.480 km SW of Puerto Casma, PeruApril 18, 1962 · 114 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3274 km WSW of Puerto Casma, PeruNovember 17, 1925 · 102 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3102 km SW of Huarmey, PeruSeptember 29, 1916 · 85 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,824 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1725M7.7
Trujillo, Ancash, Lima
7 Jan 1725 · 197 km away · intensity IX
1,500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 294 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1966M8.1
Lima,Huacho,Huaura, Chancay,Supe,San Nicolas
17 Oct 1966 · 115 km away · intensity IX
110 deaths$35 million damagetsunami
- 1828M8.3
Lima, Callao
30 Mar 1828 · 264 km away · intensity VII
30 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1962M6.4
Casma,Huaraz,Quiruvilca,Trujillo
18 Apr 1962 · 114 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M7.0
Huayllacayan,Cajacay,Malyas,Malvas,Huaraz
24 Sep 1963 · 184 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.