Reviewed by USGSPeru82y ago
M5.7 earthquake 89 km SSW of Paracas, Peru
Thursday, May 10, 1945, 17:53:21 UTC · 14.606°S, 76.596°W
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 89 km SSW of Paracas, Peru on Thursday, May 10, 1945, 17:53:21 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on November 16, 1943.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
6 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 12 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
31 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
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.121 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, PeruAugust 24, 1942 · 176 km E of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 251 km E of this epicenter
- 6.691 km SSW of Santiago, PeruJune 25, 1930 · 70 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.512 km S of Chiara, PeruJanuary 9, 1921 · 293 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3144 km W of Paracas, PeruApril 6, 1922 · 121 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.360 km W of San Juan, PeruAugust 25, 1942 · 121 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.29 km S of San Juan, PeruJune 25, 1930 · 182 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.039 km SW of Atiquipa, PeruNovember 16, 1943 · 267 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,008 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 297 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 141 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 78 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1865
Peru
8 Jan 1865 · 295 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1860
Lima, Callao
23 Apr 1860 · 284 km away · intensity VI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1869
Lima
22 Apr 1869 · 284 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.