Reviewed by USGSChile12y ago
M4.9 earthquake 54 km SSW of Iquique, Chile
Thursday, September 4, 2014, 09:26:53 UTC · 20.687°S, 70.305°W
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 54 km SSW of Iquique, Chile on Thursday, September 4, 2014, 09:26:53 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on August 23, 2014.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mww
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 1
- Max intensity III
- 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
93 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American 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
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.
| Place | Intensity | Reports | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile | III · Weak | 1 | 63 km |
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 765 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 · 129 km N of this epicenter
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 295 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 139 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 179 km S of this epicenter
- 7.753 km SW of Iquique, ChileApril 3, 2014 · 24 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 289 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 137 km S of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 22 km NE 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 28,119 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 243 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 93 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 281 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 139 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 2014M8.2
Northern: Iquique, Alto Hospicio
1 Apr 2014 · 129 km away · intensity VIII
7 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1987M6.9
Arica, Iquique
8 Aug 1987 · 188 km away · intensity VII
5 deaths$1 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.