Reviewed by USGSCosta Rica112y ago
M7.1 earthquake 6 km WNW of Siquirres, Costa Rica
Monday, April 24, 1916, 08:02:10 UTC · 10.110°N, 83.564°W
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 6 km WNW of Siquirres, Costa Rica on Monday, April 24, 1916, 08:02:10 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on December 20, 1904.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
773 kilotons of TNT
That is about 51 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,622 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
14 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Panama and Caribbean 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 200 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.7 on April 26, 1916. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
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:
- 7.353 km SSE of Quepos, Costa RicaDecember 20, 1904 · 138 km S of this epicenter
- 6.718 km WSW of Nicoya, Costa RicaJanuary 20, 1905 · 224 km W of this epicenter
- 6.11 km WNW of Orosí, Costa RicaMay 5, 1910 · 48 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.810 km WNW of Puntarenas, Costa RicaOctober 6, 1907 · 150 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 700 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1910M6.4
Cartago, San Jose
4 May 1910 · 49 km away
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1854M7.3
Costa Rica-Panama
5 Aug 1854 · 189 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1888
San Jose, Ala Juela, Heredia
30 Dec 1888 · 61 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1822M7.6
Matina
7 May 1822 · 92 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1844M7.4
Rivas, Greytown
May 1844 · 181 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1882M5.8
Alajuela, San Jose, Heredia
3 Mar 1882 · 122 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.