Reviewed by USGSPeru15d ago
M4.5 earthquake 9 km WNW of Quicacha, Peru
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 00:18:59 UTC · 15.606°S, 73.880°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 9 km WNW of Quicacha, Peru on Saturday, September 12, 2026, 00:18:59 UTC, at a depth of 98.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on August 20, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 99 km
- Intermediate
- 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
154 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
99 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 601 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.46 km SSW of Atico, PeruJune 23, 2001 · 78 km S of this epicenter
- 8.121 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, PeruAugust 24, 1942 · 138 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 104 km S of this epicenter
- 7.760 km SW of Changuillo, PeruNovember 12, 1996 · 204 km W of this epicenter
- 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 289 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 147 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.210 km WSW of Atiquipa, PeruJune 28, 2024 · 66 km W of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 258 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 51 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,407 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 224 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 112 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1707M5.8
Cuzco
17 Sep 1707 · 269 km away · intensity X
160 deaths
- 1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 189 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2001M8.4
Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Ayacucho
23 Jun 2001 · 78 km away · intensity VIII
103 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1991M4.7
Maca, Chivay, Yanque
23 Jul 1991 · 247 km away · intensity V
92 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.