Reviewed by USGSPeru52y ago
M4.2 earthquake 15 km SW of Chilca, Peru
Monday, October 14, 1974, 22:36:15 UTC · 12.620°S, 76.841°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 15 km SW of Chilca, Peru on Monday, October 14, 1974, 22:36:15 UTC, at a depth of 57.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 57 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
161 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
57 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 56 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.221 km SE of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 169 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.167 km W of Paramonga, PeruOctober 17, 1966 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.623 km E of Santa Rosa, PeruNovember 1, 1947 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.677 km WSW of Callao, PeruOctober 3, 1974 · 111 km W of this epicenter
- 6.928 km W of Paramonga, PeruSeptember 24, 1963 · 258 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.710 km SSW of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 180 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.691 km SSW of Santiago, PeruJune 25, 1930 · 272 km S of this epicenter
- 6.616 km S of Comas, PeruOctober 1, 1969 · 207 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 36 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,802 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 79 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1947M7.6
Satipo,Andamarca,Acobamba,La Merced,Victoc
1 Nov 1947 · 299 km away · intensity X
233 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 236 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1969M6.6
Huaytapallana, Lampa, Chilifruta
1 Oct 1969 · 213 km away · intensity XI
130 deaths$5 million damage
- 1966M8.1
Lima,Huacho,Huaura, Chancay,Supe,San Nicolas
17 Oct 1966 · 286 km away · intensity IX
110 deaths$35 million damagetsunami
- 1974M8.1
Lima, Callao
3 Oct 1974 · 110 km away · intensity IX
78 deaths$10 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.