Reviewed by USGSPanama106y ago
M6.0 earthquake 135 km SSE of Burica, Panama
Tuesday, October 25, 1921, 15:45:34 UTC · 6.871°N, 82.484°W
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 135 km SSE of Burica, Panama on Tuesday, October 25, 1921, 15:45:34 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on September 24, 1920.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
16 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 33 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
36 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Panama 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.353 km SSE of Quepos, Costa RicaDecember 20, 1904 · 289 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 118 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8228 km WSW of Burica, PanamaMarch 3, 1906 · 237 km W of this epicenter
- 6.711 km NE of Changuinola, PanamaApril 26, 1916 · 294 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5208 km S of Cambutal, PanamaDecember 2, 1904 · 272 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3192 km S of Burica, PanamaSeptember 24, 1920 · 62 km S of this epicenter
- 6.275 km SSE of Pedasí, PanamaJune 30, 1917 · 288 km E of this epicenter
- 6.058 km SSW of Río Grande, PanamaJune 27, 1917 · 116 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1854M7.3
Costa Rica-Panama
5 Aug 1854 · 190 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1822M7.6
Matina
7 May 1822 · 298 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1913M6.7
Azuero Peninsula
2 Oct 1913 · 209 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1854M7.2
Costa Rica-Panama
7 Aug 1854 · 190 km away
tsunami
- 1904M7.2
Bocas Del Toro
20 Dec 1904 · 261 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.