Reviewed by USGSChile84y ago
M6.5 earthquake 67 km NW of La Ligua, Chile
Thursday, April 15, 1943, 11:34:45 UTC · 32.057°S, 71.769°W
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 67 km NW of La Ligua, Chile on Thursday, April 15, 1943, 11:34:45 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.1 on April 6, 1943.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · 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
74 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 155 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
91 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 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 30 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 52 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 96 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.237 km S of San Antonio, ChileMarch 18, 1931 · 209 km S of this epicenter
- 6.972 km WNW of Calingasta, ArgentinaJuly 27, 1917 · 201 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.957 km W of Ovalle, ChileFebruary 15, 1917 · 171 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8121 km WSW of Coquimbo, ChileNovember 17, 1922 · 194 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7210 km WNW of Valparaíso, ChileDecember 11, 1904 · 184 km W of this epicenter
- 6.725 km SE of Monte Patria, ChileNovember 14, 1927 · 168 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 29 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 18,093 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 291 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 107 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 107 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 147 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1730M9.1
Valparaiso
8 Jul 1730 · 55 km away · intensity XI
5 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1903M6.0
Mendoza
12 Aug 1903 · 252 km away · intensity VIII
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.