Reviewed by USGSChile10y ago
M4.4 earthquake 25 km W of Hacienda La Calera, Chile
Sunday, May 8, 2016, 10:33:12 UTC · 32.758°S, 71.487°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 25 km W of Hacienda La Calera, Chile on Sunday, May 8, 2016, 10:33:12 UTC, at a depth of 32.7 km (shallow). USGS received 8 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mwr
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 8
- Max intensity IV
- 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
128 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
33 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
Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.
| Place | Intensity | Reports | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile | IV · Light | 4 | 44 km |
| Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile | III · Weak | 2 | 48 km |
| Quilpué, Valparaíso, Chile | IV · Light | 1 | 45 km |
| Melipilla, Metropolitana, Chile | II · Weak | 1 | 111 km |
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 May 9, 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 916 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.348 km W of Illapel, ChileSeptember 16, 2015 · 133 km N of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 41 km N of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 167 km N of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 55 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 34 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 268 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 279 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 38 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 50 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 19,078 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 251 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 55 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 48 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 254 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 46 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
- 1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 39 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.