Reviewed by USGSPanama110y ago
M6.2 earthquake 75 km SSE of Pedasí, Panama
Saturday, June 30, 1917, 17:50:29 UTC · 6.867°N, 79.879°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 75 km SSE of Pedasí, Panama on Saturday, June 30, 1917, 17:50:29 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on April 20, 1914.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- 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
26 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 55 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
31 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 5 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 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.621 km ENE of Pedasí, PanamaOctober 2, 1913 · 79 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5148 km W of Pizarro, ColombiaApril 20, 1914 · 273 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5208 km S of Cambutal, PanamaDecember 2, 1904 · 180 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.058 km SSW of Río Grande, PanamaJune 27, 1917 · 182 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1884M7.5
Aquadas [Aguadulce], Pacora
5 Nov 1884 · 120 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1904M7.9
Panama-Colombia
20 Jan 1904 · 98 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M6.7
Azuero Peninsula
2 Oct 1913 · 84 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1873
Panama City
13 Oct 1873 · 236 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.