Reviewed by USGSPeru70y ago
M6.2 earthquake 101 km SW of Callao, Peru
Thursday, January 24, 1957, 07:16:33 UTC · 12.683°S, 77.805°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 101 km SW of Callao, Peru on Thursday, January 24, 1957, 07:16:33 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on May 24, 1940.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- 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
26 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 55 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
75 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
20 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 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.221 km SE of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 168 km N of this epicenter
- 6.710 km SSW of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 166 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3144 km W of Paracas, PeruApril 6, 1922 · 158 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3102 km SW of Huarmey, PeruSeptember 29, 1916 · 260 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.111 km WNW of Sayán, PeruJanuary 20, 1932 · 187 km N of this epicenter
- 6.1central PeruSeptember 30, 1946 · 232 km E of this epicenter
- 5.9108 km W of Paracas, PeruJanuary 18, 1928 · 161 km S of this epicenter
- 5.789 km SSW of Paracas, PeruMay 10, 1945 · 251 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,178 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 101 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 258 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1828M8.3
Lima, Callao
30 Mar 1828 · 61 km away · intensity VII
30 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1937M6.5
Huancabamba,Oxapampa,El Progreso,San David
24 Dec 1937 · 265 km away · intensity X
15 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1865
Peru
8 Jan 1865 · 108 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1948M7.0
Canete
28 May 1948 · 146 km away · intensity VII
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.