QuakeScout
Magnitude6.8

Reviewed by USGSPanama64y ago

M6.8 earthquake 78 km S of Boca Chica, Panama

Tuesday, September 18, 1962, 00:29:09 UTC · 7.514°N, 82.297°W

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 78 km S of Boca Chica, Panama on Tuesday, September 18, 1962, 00:29:09 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on July 26, 1962.

Magnitude
6.8
Strong · mw
Depth
30 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
V
Moderate (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

215 kilotons of TNT

That is about 14 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 452 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

29 km

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

Depth: shallow

30 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 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 96 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.544 km ESE of Burica, PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 45 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.570 km WSW of Golfito, Costa RicaDecember 5, 1941 · 179 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.353 km SSE of Quepos, Costa RicaDecember 20, 1904 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 48 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.259 km SSE of Burica, PanamaJuly 26, 1962 · 48 km W of this epicenter
  6. 7.056 km SSE of Cambutal, PanamaMay 2, 1943 · 229 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.9112 km SSW of Quepos, Costa RicaDecember 6, 1941 · 281 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 6.8south of PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 11 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1941M7.6

    Costa Rica-Panama

    5 Dec 1941 · 165 km away · intensity IV

    6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1854M7.3

    Costa Rica-Panama

    5 Aug 1854 · 134 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1822M7.6

    Matina

    7 May 1822 · 234 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1962M7.4

    Panama

    26 Jul 1962 · 33 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1882M5.8

    Alajuela, San Jose, Heredia

    3 Mar 1882 · 280 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1934M7.7

    Panama-Costa Rica

    18 Jul 1934 · 58 km away

    Under $1 million damagetsunami

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

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