Reviewed by USGSChile12y ago
M4.0 earthquake 129 km SW of Arica, Chile
Sunday, October 19, 2014, 08:02:26 UTC · 19.363°S, 71.099°W
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 129 km SW of Arica, Chile on Sunday, October 19, 2014, 08:02:26 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · ml
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Max intensity I
- 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
58 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
35 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 599 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.293 km NW of Iquique, ChileApril 1, 2014 · 44 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 211 km E of this epicenter
- 7.753 km SW of Iquique, ChileApril 3, 2014 · 148 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 227 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 160 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 98 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.268 km SSE of Arica, ChileAugust 8, 1987 · 122 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1136 km E of Iquique, ChileJune 14, 1959 · 261 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 52 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,112 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 86 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 246 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 124 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 211 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 2014M8.2
Northern: Iquique, Alto Hospicio
1 Apr 2014 · 44 km away · intensity VIII
7 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1987M6.9
Arica, Iquique
8 Aug 1987 · 122 km away · intensity VII
5 deaths$1 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.