Reviewed by USGSEcuador85y ago
M6.5 earthquake 113 km WNW of Manta, Ecuador
Thursday, November 19, 1942, 08:51:58 UTC · 0.464°S, 81.600°W
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 113 km WNW of Manta, Ecuador on Thursday, November 19, 1942, 08:51:58 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
- 6.5
- 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
74 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 155 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
36 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on November 19, 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 21 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 · 294 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.812 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorMay 14, 1942 · 187 km E of this epicenter
- 6.846 km SW of Paján, EcuadorOctober 2, 1933 · 178 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 221 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.667 km NNW of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJune 1, 1907 · 285 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.629 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorJuly 12, 1942 · 195 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5197 km NW of Manta, EcuadorNovember 18, 1914 · 96 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,200 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 294 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1942M7.9
Guayaquil
14 May 1942 · 34 km away · intensity IX
200 deaths$3 million damage
- 1901M7.8
Esmeraldas
7 Jan 1901 · 176 km away
- 1904M7.7
Ecuador
1 Nov 1904 · 136 km away
- 1933M6.9
Ecuador
2 Oct 1933 · 183 km away
tsunami
- 1906
Colombia-Ecuador
7 Feb 1906 · 176 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.