QuakeScout
Magnitude6.6

Reviewed by USGSPanama76y ago

M6.6 earthquake 15 km WSW of Arenas, Panama

Saturday, January 6, 1951, 07:51:35 UTC · 7.329°N, 80.993°W

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 15 km WSW of Arenas, Panama on Saturday, January 6, 1951, 07:51:35 UTC, at a depth of 54.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on May 2, 1943.

Magnitude
6.6
Strong · mw
Depth
54 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
VI
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

116 kilotons of TNT

That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 243 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

9 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

54 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 47 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 · 177 km W of this epicenter
  2. 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 121 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.056 km SSE of Cambutal, PanamaMay 2, 1943 · 94 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 6.8south of PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 154 km W of this epicenter
  5. 6.820 km SSE of Guarumal, PanamaJuly 21, 1934 · 188 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 6.711 km NE of Changuinola, PanamaApril 26, 1916 · 291 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 6.7260 km SSW of Arenas, PanamaAugust 20, 1927 · 251 km SW of this epicenter
  8. 6.621 km ENE of Pedasí, PanamaOctober 2, 1913 · 130 km E of this epicenter

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 6 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1941M7.6

    Costa Rica-Panama

    5 Dec 1941 · 287 km away · intensity IV

    6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1854M7.3

    Costa Rica-Panama

    5 Aug 1854 · 257 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1884M7.5

    Aquadas [Aguadulce], Pacora

    5 Nov 1884 · 221 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1904M7.9

    Panama-Colombia

    20 Jan 1904 · 223 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1934M7.7

    Panama-Costa Rica

    18 Jul 1934 · 182 km away

    Under $1 million damagetsunami

  6. 1916M7.0

    Almirante, Bocas Del Toro

    26 Apr 1916 · 276 km away · intensity IX

    Under $1 million damagetsunami

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

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