Reviewed by USGSEcuador85y ago
M6.4 earthquake 27 km WSW of Muisne, Ecuador
Sunday, May 17, 1942, 15:14:21 UTC · 0.532°N, 80.249°W
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 27 km WSW of Muisne, Ecuador on Sunday, May 17, 1942, 15:14:21 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
- 6.4
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
67 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 140 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
58 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 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 17 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 · 109 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.812 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorMay 14, 1942 · 68 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.846 km SW of Paján, EcuadorOctober 2, 1933 · 267 km S of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 34 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.667 km NNW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJune 1, 1907 · 112 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5197 km NW of Manta, EcuadorNovember 18, 1914 · 191 km W of this epicenter
- 6.537 km SSW of La Tola, ColombiaJune 5, 1907 · 275 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.384 km WNW of Mosquera, ColombiaDecember 24, 1935 · 272 km NE 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 112,540 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 231 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 299 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 109 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 243 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 277 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1942M7.9
Guayaquil
14 May 1942 · 199 km away · intensity IX
200 deaths$3 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.