Reviewed by USGSEcuador61y ago
M6.5 earthquake 58 km E of Puyo, Ecuador
Friday, September 17, 1965, 11:13:57 UTC · 1.443°S, 77.476°W
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 58 km E of Puyo, Ecuador on Friday, September 17, 1965, 11:13:57 UTC, at a depth of 185.9 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on May 10, 1963.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 186 km
- Intermediate
- 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
91 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 191 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
126 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
186 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.655 km ENE of Macas, EcuadorMay 10, 1963 · 84 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6119 km E of Macas, EcuadorJuly 28, 1961 · 106 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.542 km SE of Cayambe, EcuadorMay 11, 1955 · 142 km N of this epicenter
- 6.522 km NE of Baños, EcuadorAugust 5, 1949 · 95 km W of this epicenter
- 6.328 km WNW of El Ángel, EcuadorDecember 14, 1923 · 250 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3128 km ESE of Palora, EcuadorJune 12, 1942 · 97 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.233 km W of Ambato, EcuadorJuly 22, 1924 · 162 km W of this epicenter
- 6.298 km E of Gualaquiza, EcuadorNovember 3, 1963 · 235 km S 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 117,609 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 210 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 135 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1949M6.5
Tungurahua
5 Aug 1949 · 95 km away
6,000 deaths$8 million damage
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 139 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 259 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1936M5.6
Colombia
9 Jan 1936 · 283 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.