QuakeScout
Magnitude5.3

Reviewed by USGSChile11y ago

M5.3 earthquake 98 km WNW of Iquique, Chile

Saturday, November 29, 2014, 14:18:07 UTC · 19.997°S, 71.069°W

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 98 km WNW of Iquique, Chile on Saturday, November 29, 2014, 14:18:07 UTC, at a depth of 6.1 km (shallow). USGS received 2 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on October 7, 2014.

Magnitude
5.3
Moderate · mww
Depth
6 km
Shallow
Felt reports
2
Max intensity IV
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

37 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

6 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.

PlaceIntensityReportsDistance
Iquique, Tarapacá, ChileIV · Light2100 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 8 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on December 12, 2014. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M5.3
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.3104 km WNW of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 15 km N of this epicenter
  2. 4.188 km WNW of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 19 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 5.187 km WNW of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 17 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 4.989 km WNW of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 11 km E of this epicenter
  5. 4.0104 km WNW of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 28 km N of this epicenter
  6. 4.694 km W of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 31 km S of this epicenter
  7. 4.1104 km WNW of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 8 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 4.487 km WNW of Iquique, Chile11y ago · 13 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 572 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.293 km NW of Iquique, ChileApril 1, 2014 · 53 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 196 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 278 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.753 km SW of Iquique, ChileApril 3, 2014 · 88 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 293 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 239 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 108 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 67 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 28,114 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1868M8.5

    Arica

    13 Aug 1868 · 156 km away · intensity XI

    25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami

  2. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 177 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  3. 1833M7.7

    Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica

    18 Sep 1833 · 194 km away · intensity VIII

    700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 2005M7.7

    Tarapaca

    13 Jun 2005 · 196 km away

    11 deaths$5 million damage

  5. 2014M8.2

    Northern: Iquique, Alto Hospicio

    1 Apr 2014 · 53 km away · intensity VIII

    7 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  6. 1987M6.9

    Arica, Iquique

    8 Aug 1987 · 157 km away · intensity VII

    5 deaths$1 million damage

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

Nearby trackers

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