Reviewed by USGSChile114y ago
M7.7 earthquake 103 km NW of Constitución, Chile
Friday, January 30, 1914, 03:36:06 UTC · 34.763°S, 73.309°W
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 103 km NW of Constitución, Chile on Friday, January 30, 1914, 03:36:06 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- 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
5.2 megatons of TNT
That is about 343 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 10,839 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
22 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American 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 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 1 M5.0+ earthquake within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,196 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 230 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 230 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1751M8.5
Concepcion, Chillan, Talca, Tutuben, Curico
25 May 1751 · 275 km away · intensity XI
65 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1835M8.2
Concepcion
20 Feb 1835 · 231 km away · intensity XI
53 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1898M6.5
Concepcion
23 Jul 1898 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1871M7.5
Central
25 Mar 1871 · 78 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.