Magnitude7.5

Reviewed by USGSPeru69y ago

M7.5 earthquake 81 km SSE of Puerto Rosario de Laberinto, Peru

Saturday, July 26, 1958, 17:37:14 UTC · 13.428°S, 69.388°W

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 81 km SSE of Puerto Rosario de Laberinto, Peru on Saturday, July 26, 1958, 17:37:14 UTC, at a depth of 612.4 km (deep). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude
7.5
Major · mw
Depth
612 km
Deep
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
III
Weak (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

2.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 178 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

14 km

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

Depth: deep

612 km

Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.

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

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 374 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1707M5.8

    Cuzco

    17 Sep 1707 · 298 km away · intensity X

    160 deaths

  2. 1950M6.0

    Cusco

    21 May 1950 · 283 km away · intensity VII

    129 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  3. 1943M5.0

    Yanacoa, Pampamarca

    31 Jan 1943 · 244 km away

    75 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1928M6.7

    Peru

    9 Apr 1928 · 105 km away · intensity IX

    10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1947M6.4

    Conzata

    24 Feb 1947 · 237 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1747

    Carabaya Province: Ayapata

    1747 · 116 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers

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