Reviewed by USGSPanama110y ago
M6.0 earthquake 58 km SSW of Río Grande, Panama
Wednesday, June 27, 1917, 12:26:40 UTC · 7.210°N, 81.494°W
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 58 km SSW of Río Grande, Panama on Wednesday, June 27, 1917, 12:26:40 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on April 26, 1916.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
14 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 30 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
16 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 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 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 85 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.711 km NE of Changuinola, PanamaApril 26, 1916 · 277 km N of this epicenter
- 6.621 km ENE of Pedasí, PanamaOctober 2, 1913 · 187 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5208 km S of Cambutal, PanamaDecember 2, 1904 · 229 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 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 · 219 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1884M7.5
Aquadas [Aguadulce], Pacora
5 Nov 1884 · 277 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M7.9
Panama-Colombia
20 Jan 1904 · 276 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M7.0
Almirante, Bocas Del Toro
26 Apr 1916 · 272 km away · intensity IX
Under $1 million damagetsunami
- 1913M6.7
Azuero Peninsula
2 Oct 1913 · 99 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1854M7.2
Costa Rica-Panama
7 Aug 1854 · 219 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.