Reviewed by USGS12y ago
M7.0 earthquake southern East Pacific Rise
Thursday, October 9, 2014, 02:14:31 UTC · 32.108°S, 110.811°W
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck southern East Pacific Rise on Thursday, October 9, 2014, 02:14:31 UTC, at a depth of 16.5 km (shallow). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
Tsunami flagUSGS sets this flag for large events in oceanic regions so tsunami warning centers review them. It does not by itself mean a tsunami occurred. Check tsunami.gov and local authorities for official messages.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mww
- Depth
- 17 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- Green
- Impact estimate
- Tsunami
- Flag
- Check tsunami.gov
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
44 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Juan Fernandez and Nazca plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
17 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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS lists 16 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.6 on October 9, 2014. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 6.0Easter Island region12y ago · 50 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.8Easter Island region12y ago · 35 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.7southern East Pacific Rise12y ago · 56 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.0southern East Pacific Rise12y ago · 67 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.2southern East Pacific Rise12y ago · 4 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.2southern East Pacific Rise12y ago · 109 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.6southern East Pacific Rise12y ago · 7 km S of this epicenter
- 4.5Easter Island region12y ago · 49 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 79 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.9Easter Island regionDecember 19, 1925 · 52 km N of this epicenter
- 6.4Easter Island regionAugust 21, 1962 · 272 km N of this epicenter
- 6.4southern East Pacific RiseJuly 25, 1949 · 249 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3southern East Pacific RiseMarch 7, 1940 · 122 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3southern East Pacific RiseNovember 16, 1962 · 42 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3southern East Pacific RiseJuly 9, 1950 · 85 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3Easter Island regionJanuary 16, 1984 · 277 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3Easter Island regionJuly 18, 1912 · 198 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 2014M7.0
Easter Island Region
9 Oct 2014 · 0 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.