Reviewed by USGSEcuador69y ago
M6.8 earthquake 30 km SE of Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Monday, April 14, 1958, 21:32:34 UTC · 0.801°N, 79.428°W
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 30 km SE of Esmeraldas, Ecuador on Monday, April 14, 1958, 21:32:34 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on February 1, 1958.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
124 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and North Andes plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
25 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on April 15, 1958. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 39 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.81906 Ecuador-Colombia EarthquakeJanuary 31, 1906 · 18 km N of this epicenter
- 7.812 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorMay 14, 1942 · 110 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6near the coast of EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 24 km N of this epicenter
- 7.07 km NNE of Tosagua, EcuadorJanuary 16, 1956 · 191 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.951 km NW of Valdez, EcuadorFebruary 1, 1958 · 83 km N of this epicenter
- 6.824 km NNE of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 41 km N of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 65 km W of this epicenter
- 6.667 km NNW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJune 1, 1907 · 97 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 118,915 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 149 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 284 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1949M6.5
Tungurahua
5 Aug 1949 · 259 km away
6,000 deaths$8 million damage
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 18 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 210 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 183 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.