Reviewed by USGSPeru84y ago
M6.0 earthquake 39 km SW of Atiquipa, Peru
Tuesday, November 16, 1943, 11:37:55 UTC · 16.057°S, 74.614°W
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 39 km SW of Atiquipa, Peru on Tuesday, November 16, 1943, 11:37:55 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on July 5, 1943.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
18 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 38 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
67 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 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 20 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 · 121 km N of this epicenter
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 107 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 205 km E of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 148 km N of this epicenter
- 6.882 km SW of Islay (Matarani), PeruJanuary 6, 1922 · 267 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7165 km SSW of Atiquipa, PeruJuly 28, 1913 · 130 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7103 km SSW of Atico, PeruSeptember 13, 1919 · 127 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.691 km SSW of Santiago, PeruJune 25, 1930 · 197 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 791 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 283 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 176 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 277 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1914
Pararca,Paysa,Colta,Oyala
2 Dec 1914 · 179 km away · intensity X
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 233 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 189 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.