Reviewed by USGSPeru79y ago
M6.1 earthquake 10 km SSE of Huaylillas, Peru
Saturday, February 14, 1948, 22:00:37 UTC · 8.276°S, 77.323°W
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 10 km SSE of Huaylillas, Peru on Saturday, February 14, 1948, 22:00:37 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on November 10, 1946.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
21 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 43 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
96 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 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 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.155 km SW of Santiago de Cao, PeruJune 21, 1937 · 254 km W of this epicenter
- 6.86 km SSW of Quiches, PeruNovember 10, 1946 · 29 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1123 km WSW of Puerto Casma, PeruApril 3, 1931 · 293 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.958 km WSW of Puerto Santa, PeruNovember 21, 1927 · 224 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.758 km NNW of San Alejandro, PeruSeptember 12, 1925 · 202 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,494 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1725M7.7
Trujillo, Ancash, Lima
7 Jan 1725 · 201 km away · intensity IX
1,500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1946M7.3
Jocaibamba,Cerro Angaschaj,Cerro Sillapata
10 Nov 1946 · 32 km away · intensity XI
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 250 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1937M6.5
Huancabamba,Oxapampa,El Progreso,San David
24 Dec 1937 · 275 km away · intensity X
15 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1907
Peru
16 Nov 1907 · 66 km away · intensity VI
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.