QuakeScout
Magnitude8.2

Reviewed by USGSChile12y ago

M8.2 earthquake 93 km NW of Iquique, Chile

Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 23:46:47 UTC · 19.610°S, 70.769°W

A magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck 93 km NW of Iquique, Chile on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 23:46:47 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). USGS received 357 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IX (violent). The USGS PAGER alert is yellow: some casualties and damage are possible. 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
8.2
Great · mww
Depth
25 km
Shallow
Felt reports
357
Max intensity IX
Est. shaking
VIII
Severe (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert
Yellow
Impact estimate
Tsunami
Flag
Check tsunami.gov

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

30 megatons of TNT

That is about 1,998 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63,096 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

79 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

25 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, ChileIX · Violent13298 km
Arica, Tarapacá, ChileVIII · Severe52135 km
Tacna, Tacna, PeruVII · Very strong20185 km
Arequipa, Arequipa, PeruV · Moderate18366 km
Calama, Antofagasta, ChileV · Moderate16369 km
Antofagasta, Antofagasta, ChileIII · Weak15449 km
La Paz, La Paz, BoliviaIV · Light10442 km
Santiago, Metropolitana, ChileII · Weak91534 km
Tocopilla, Antofagasta, ChileVI · Strong7282 km
Moquegua, Moquegua, PeruVI · Strong6269 km
Ilo, Moquegua, PeruVI · Strong5227 km
Cochabamba, Cochabamba, BoliviaIII · Weak5545 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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 400 km

USGS lists 419 M2.5+ earthquakes within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M7.7 on April 3, 2014. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M5M6M7M81h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M8.2
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.5101 km ENE of Iquique, Chile12y ago · 169 km E of this epicenter
  2. 4.8106 km WNW of Iquique, Chile12y ago · 59 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 4.2154 km NNE of Calama, Chile12y ago · 277 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 3.881 km NNE of Iquique, Chile12y ago · 83 km E of this epicenter
  5. 4.3115 km WNW of Iquique, Chile12y ago · 50 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 4.488 km WNW of Iquique, Chile12y ago · 33 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 4.289 km WNW of Iquique, Chile12y ago · 32 km SW of this epicenter
  8. 4.3105 km WNW of Iquique, Chile12y ago · 37 km SW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 537 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 170 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 268 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 292 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 266 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 118 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 55 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.268 km SSE of Arica, ChileAugust 8, 1987 · 105 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.1136 km E of Iquique, ChileJune 14, 1959 · 218 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 53 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,113 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1868M8.5

    Arica

    13 Aug 1868 · 115 km away · intensity XI

    25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami

  2. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 212 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  3. 1833M7.7

    Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica

    18 Sep 1833 · 153 km away · intensity VIII

    700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 2005M7.7

    Tarapaca

    13 Jun 2005 · 170 km away

    11 deaths$5 million damage

  5. 2014M8.2

    Northern: Iquique, Alto Hospicio

    1 Apr 2014 · 0 km away · intensity VIII

    7 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  6. 1987M6.9

    Arica, Iquique

    8 Aug 1987 · 105 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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