M6.9 earthquake 24 km NNE of El Cardo, Peru

Friday, February 16, 1979, 10:08:53 UTC · 16.390°S, 72.658°W

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 24 km NNE of El Cardo, Peru on Friday, February 16, 1979, 10:08:53 UTC, at a depth of 53.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on January 15, 1960.

Magnitude: 6.9; Strong · ms
Depth: 53 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 kilotons of TNT

That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

168 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

53 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 lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on February 16, 1979. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 96 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,780 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 71 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 46 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1707M5.8
Cuzco
17 Sep 1707 · 283 km away · intensity X
160 deaths
1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 245 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1943M5.0
Yanacoa, Pampamarca
31 Jan 1943 · 273 km away
75 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers