Reviewed by USGSPanama112y ago
M6.7 earthquake 11 km NE of Changuinola, Panama
Wednesday, April 26, 1916, 02:21:28 UTC · 9.511°N, 82.458°W
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 11 km NE of Changuinola, Panama on Wednesday, April 26, 1916, 02:21:28 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on April 24, 1916.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 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
194 kilotons of TNT
That is about 13 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 407 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
6 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
10 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:
- 7.353 km SSE of Quepos, Costa RicaDecember 20, 1904 · 184 km W of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 197 km S of this epicenter
- 7.16 km WNW of Siquirres, Costa RicaApril 24, 1916 · 138 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.11 km WNW of Orosí, Costa RicaMay 5, 1910 · 158 km W of this epicenter
- 5.810 km WNW of Puntarenas, Costa RicaOctober 6, 1907 · 277 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 178 km away
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1854M7.3
Costa Rica-Panama
5 Aug 1854 · 127 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1888
San Jose, Ala Juela, Heredia
30 Dec 1888 · 186 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1822M7.6
Matina
7 May 1822 · 59 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1882M5.8
Alajuela, San Jose, Heredia
3 Mar 1882 · 193 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1910M5.8
Cartago
13 Apr 1910 · 172 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.