Reviewed by USGSEcuador85y ago
M6.3 earthquake 6 km SSW of Muisne, Ecuador
Friday, May 15, 1942, 11:51:25 UTC · 0.556°N, 80.045°W
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 6 km SSW of Muisne, Ecuador on Friday, May 15, 1942, 11:51:25 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on May 14, 1942.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
41 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 86 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
77 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and North Andes 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on May 17, 1942. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 18 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.81906 Ecuador-Colombia EarthquakeJanuary 31, 1906 · 87 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.812 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorMay 14, 1942 · 64 km S of this epicenter
- 6.846 km SW of Paján, EcuadorOctober 2, 1933 · 275 km S of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 20 km N of this epicenter
- 6.667 km NNW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJune 1, 1907 · 105 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5197 km NW of Manta, EcuadorNovember 18, 1914 · 214 km W of this epicenter
- 6.537 km SSW of La Tola, ColombiaJune 5, 1907 · 256 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.384 km WNW of Mosquera, ColombiaDecember 24, 1935 · 260 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 112,790 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 209 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 288 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 87 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 228 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 254 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1936M5.6
Colombia
9 Jan 1936 · 278 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.