M5.3 earthquake 56 km WSW of Atiquipa, Peru

Monday, July 8, 2024, 14:03:32 UTC · 15.950°S, 74.867°W

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 56 km WSW of Atiquipa, Peru on Monday, July 8, 2024, 14:03:32 UTC, at a depth of 22.5 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of II (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on June 29, 2024.

Magnitude: 5.3; Moderate · mww
Depth: 23 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 1; Max intensity II
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

61 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

23 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
Ica, Ica, Peru	II · Weak	1	233 km

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 75 km

USGS lists 9 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on July 12, 2024. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 487 M5.0+ earthquakes 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 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 663 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 204 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 287 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2001M8.4
Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Ayacucho
23 Jun 2001 · 136 km away · intensity VIII
103 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
1960M7.8
Arequipa,Chuquibamba,Caraveli,Cotahuasi
13 Jan 1960 · 228 km away · intensity X
63 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914
Pararca,Paysa,Colta,Oyala
2 Dec 1914 · 197 km away · intensity X
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 214 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers