Reviewed by USGSChile52y ago
M4.7 earthquake 44 km S of Cañete, Chile
Thursday, May 15, 1975, 14:39:30 UTC · 38.201°S, 73.336°W
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 44 km S of Cañete, Chile on Thursday, May 15, 1975, 14:39:30 UTC, at a depth of 12.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on May 14, 1975.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 12 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
115 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
12 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on May 28, 1975. 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 83 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.51960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake)May 22, 1960 · 9 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.14 km ESE of Cañete, ChileMay 21, 1960 · 42 km N of this epicenter
- 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 234 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.838 km WNW of Traiguén, ChileMay 22, 1960 · 30 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.744 km SSE of Cañete, ChileMay 10, 1975 · 9 km E of this epicenter
- 7.523 km SE of Chiguayante, ChileMay 6, 1953 · 130 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4Off the coast of Araucania, ChileNovember 1, 1960 · 151 km W of this epicenter
- 7.350 km SSW of Carahue, ChileDecember 10, 1920 · 101 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,416 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 237 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
- 1960M9.5
Puerto Montt, Valdivia
22 May 1960 · 9 km away · intensity XII
2,226 deaths$1.0 billion damagetsunami
- 1751M8.5
Concepcion, Chillan, Talca, Tutuben, Curico
25 May 1751 · 214 km away · intensity XI
65 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1949M7.3
Angol, Traiguen
20 Apr 1949 · 27 km away
57 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1835M8.2
Concepcion
20 Feb 1835 · 155 km away · intensity XI
53 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1953M7.6
Chillan, Concepcion
6 May 1953 · 203 km away · intensity X
9 deaths$500 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.