Reviewed by USGSEcuador85y ago
M6.4 earthquake 68 km W of Pedernales, Ecuador
Thursday, November 12, 1942, 15:26:22 UTC · 0.011°N, 80.667°W
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 68 km W of Pedernales, Ecuador on Thursday, November 12, 1942, 15:26:22 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on July 12, 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
60 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 126 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
42 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 23 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 · 178 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.812 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorMay 14, 1942 · 76 km E of this epicenter
- 6.846 km SW of Paján, EcuadorOctober 2, 1933 · 204 km S of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 108 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.667 km NNW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJune 1, 1907 · 183 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.629 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorJuly 12, 1942 · 89 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5197 km NW of Manta, EcuadorNovember 18, 1914 · 147 km W 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 112,240 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 279 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 · 178 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 251 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1942M7.9
Guayaquil
14 May 1942 · 125 km away · intensity IX
200 deaths$3 million damage
- 1924M6.9
Ecuador
3 Mar 1924 · 291 km away
40 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.