Reviewed by USGSPeru69y ago
M7.0 earthquake 21 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, Peru
Wednesday, January 15, 1958, 19:14:31 UTC · 16.625°S, 72.242°W
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 21 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, Peru on Wednesday, January 15, 1958, 19:14:31 UTC, at a depth of 64.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on October 11, 1922.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 64 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (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
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
174 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
64 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 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 160 km W of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 62 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 87 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.925 km ENE of Arica, ChileAugust 30, 1906 · 299 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.882 km SW of Islay (Matarani), PeruJanuary 6, 1922 · 110 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7165 km SSW of Atiquipa, PeruJuly 28, 1913 · 298 km W of this epicenter
- 6.7103 km SSW of Atico, PeruSeptember 13, 1919 · 197 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 34 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,534 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 256 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 223 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 29 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 96 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 279 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1943M5.0
Yanacoa, Pampamarca
31 Jan 1943 · 281 km away
75 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.