Reviewed by USGSPanama84y ago
M7.0 earthquake 56 km SSE of Cambutal, Panama
Sunday, May 2, 1943, 17:18:10 UTC · 6.767°N, 80.362°W
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 56 km SSE of Cambutal, Panama on Sunday, May 2, 1943, 17:18:10 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on July 18, 1934.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 20 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
415 kilotons of TNT
That is about 28 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 871 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
42 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
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 32 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.544 km ESE of Burica, PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 266 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 213 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8south of PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 236 km W of this epicenter
- 6.820 km SSE of Guarumal, PanamaJuly 21, 1934 · 280 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7260 km SSW of Arenas, PanamaAugust 20, 1927 · 241 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.621 km ENE of Pedasí, PanamaOctober 2, 1913 · 107 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.697 km SSE of Burica, PanamaAugust 10, 1927 · 238 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5148 km W of Pizarro, ColombiaApril 20, 1914 · 294 km SE 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. The most severe:
- 1884M7.5
Aquadas [Aguadulce], Pacora
5 Nov 1884 · 171 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M7.9
Panama-Colombia
20 Jan 1904 · 153 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1934M7.7
Panama-Costa Rica
18 Jul 1934 · 273 km away
Under $1 million damagetsunami
- 1913M6.7
Azuero Peninsula
2 Oct 1913 · 45 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1873
Panama City
13 Oct 1873 · 261 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.