Reviewed by USGSCosta Rica112y ago
M7.3 earthquake 204 km WSW of Sámara, Costa Rica
Sunday, February 27, 1916, 20:21:02 UTC · 9.451°N, 87.336°W
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 204 km WSW of Sámara, Costa Rica on Sunday, February 27, 1916, 20:21:02 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on December 30, 1907.
- Magnitude
- 7.3
- Major · 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
1.2 megatons of TNT
That is about 78 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,455 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
111 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Panama plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.392 km SW of San Juan del Sur, NicaraguaDecember 30, 1907 · 165 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2116 km SW of Corinto, NicaraguaJuly 1, 1907 · 252 km N of this epicenter
- 6.718 km WSW of Nicoya, Costa RicaJanuary 20, 1905 · 202 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2115 km W of Santa Cruz, Costa RicaOctober 23, 1913 · 104 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.810 km WNW of Puntarenas, Costa RicaOctober 6, 1907 · 270 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:
- 1881
San Juan Del Sur,Chinandega,Managua
29 Apr 1881 · 254 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1901M7.0
Nicaragua
8 Oct 1901 · 195 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1905M6.8
Puntarenas
20 Jan 1905 · 295 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1900M7.5
Costa Rica
21 Jun 1900 · 210 km away
- 1916M7.5
Off Coast
27 Feb 1916 · 226 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.