Reviewed by USGSEcuador51y ago
M6.7 earthquake 25 km SW of Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Friday, April 9, 1976, 07:08:47 UTC · 0.782°N, 79.804°W
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 25 km SW of Esmeraldas, Ecuador on Friday, April 9, 1976, 07:08:47 UTC, at a depth of 9.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on April 14, 1958.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · ms
- Depth
- 9 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
89 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and North Andes plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
9 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 54 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.81906 Ecuador-Colombia EarthquakeJanuary 31, 1906 · 52 km E of this epicenter
- 7.812 km SE of Pedernales, EcuadorMay 14, 1942 · 91 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6near the coast of EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 43 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.07 km NNE of Tosagua, EcuadorJanuary 16, 1956 · 174 km S of this epicenter
- 6.951 km NW of Valdez, EcuadorFebruary 1, 1958 · 99 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.824 km NNE of Esmeraldas, EcuadorJanuary 19, 1958 · 50 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.830 km SE of Esmeraldas, EcuadorApril 14, 1958 · 42 km E of this epicenter
- 6.813 km N of Muisne, EcuadorJune 30, 1916 · 24 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 118,936 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 188 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 297 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1949M6.5
Tungurahua
5 Aug 1949 · 280 km away
6,000 deaths$8 million damage
- 1906M8.8
Off Coast
31 Jan 1906 · 52 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 230 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1923M6.2
Ipiales
14 Dec 1923 · 225 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.