Reviewed by USGSChile10y ago
M4.4 earthquake 26 km SE of La Serena, Chile
Wednesday, February 24, 2016, 21:59:31 UTC · 30.067°S, 71.047°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 26 km SE of La Serena, Chile on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, 21:59:31 UTC, at a depth of 69.5 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 70 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Max intensity I
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
148 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
70 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on March 3, 2016. 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 738 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.594 km ENE of Vallenar, ChileNovember 11, 1922 · 229 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.348 km W of Illapel, ChileSeptember 16, 2015 · 178 km S of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 262 km S of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 136 km S of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 284 km S of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 273 km S of this epicenter
- 7.136 km SW of Monte Patria, ChileOctober 15, 1997 · 98 km S of this epicenter
- 7.086 km NW of La Serena, ChileMarch 19, 1904 · 113 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 42 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 11,233 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 291 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1922M8.5
Atacama
11 Nov 1922 · 229 km away · intensity XI
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 260 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 271 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
- 2015M8.3
Central
16 Sep 2015 · 178 km away · intensity IX
15 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 119 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.