Reviewed by USGSChile10y ago
M4.2 earthquake 10 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile
Tuesday, September 13, 2016, 10:14:16 UTC · 30.688°S, 71.254°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 10 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile on Tuesday, September 13, 2016, 10:14:16 UTC, at a depth of 47.2 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 47 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
130 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
47 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on October 12, 2016. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.933 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile10y ago · 26 km W of this epicenter
- 4.647 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile10y ago · 37 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.012 km ENE of Ovalle, Chile10y ago · 23 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.026 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile10y ago · 19 km W of this epicenter
- 4.227 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile10y ago · 20 km W of this epicenter
- 4.117 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile10y ago · 12 km W of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 796 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 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.348 km W of Illapel, ChileSeptember 16, 2015 · 106 km S of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 191 km S of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 65 km S of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 278 km S of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 215 km S of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 203 km S of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 283 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 56 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 15,490 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 278 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 267 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1922M8.5
Atacama
11 Nov 1922 · 299 km away · intensity XI
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 190 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 275 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
- 1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 202 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.