Reviewed by USGSPeru52y ago
M4.5 earthquake 54 km SW of Santiago de Surco, Peru
Thursday, October 24, 1974, 02:25:39 UTC · 12.531°S, 77.304°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 54 km SW of Santiago de Surco, Peru on Thursday, October 24, 1974, 02:25:39 UTC, at a depth of 60.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on October 10, 1974.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 60 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
129 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
60 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on November 14, 1974. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 50 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 · 147 km N of this epicenter
- 8.167 km W of Paramonga, PeruOctober 17, 1966 · 238 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.677 km WSW of Callao, PeruOctober 3, 1974 · 61 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.928 km W of Paramonga, PeruSeptember 24, 1963 · 226 km N of this epicenter
- 6.710 km SSW of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 153 km N of this epicenter
- 6.616 km S of Comas, PeruOctober 1, 1969 · 251 km E of this epicenter
- 6.518 km WSW of Oxapampa, PeruDecember 24, 1937 · 283 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3144 km W of Paracas, PeruApril 6, 1922 · 176 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 34 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,539 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 61 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1940M8.2
Peru
24 May 1940 · 228 km away · intensity X
179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1969M6.6
Huaytapallana, Lampa, Chilifruta
1 Oct 1969 · 257 km away · intensity XI
130 deaths$5 million damage
- 1966M8.1
Lima,Huacho,Huaura, Chancay,Supe,San Nicolas
17 Oct 1966 · 246 km away · intensity IX
110 deaths$35 million damagetsunami
- 1974M8.1
Lima, Callao
3 Oct 1974 · 60 km away · intensity IX
78 deaths$10 million damagetsunami
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 270 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.