Reviewed by USGSChile99y ago
M5.9 earthquake 43 km SW of Antofagasta, Chile
Thursday, November 29, 1928, 12:23:35 UTC · 23.878°S, 70.743°W
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 43 km SW of Antofagasta, Chile on Thursday, November 29, 1928, 12:23:35 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on November 20, 1928.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · 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
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 23 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
69 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 287 km S of this epicenter
- 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 254 km S of this epicenter
- 7.064 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileNovember 20, 1928 · 106 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9178 km W of Taltal, ChileMay 24, 1913 · 246 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.881 km WSW of Calama, ChileDecember 23, 1916 · 167 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6152 km WNW of Tocopilla, ChileOctober 22, 1920 · 267 km N of this epicenter
- 6.697 km SW of Antofagasta, ChileAugust 5, 1907 · 59 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.472 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJanuary 5, 1919 · 240 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,385 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 266 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1918M7.8
Copiapo
4 Dec 1918 · 237 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1909M7.6
Chile
8 Jun 1909 · 293 km away
tsunami
- 1836M7.5
Cobija
3 Jul 1836 · 149 km away
tsunami
- 1925M7.1
Northern
15 May 1925 · 248 km away
tsunami
- 1928M7.1
Northern
20 Nov 1928 · 155 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.