M7.2 earthquake 135 km W of Valparaíso, Chile

Friday, October 16, 1981, 03:25:42 UTC · 33.134°S, 73.074°W

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 135 km W of Valparaíso, Chile on Friday, October 16, 1981, 03:25:42 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on July 9, 1971.

Magnitude: 7.2; Major · ms
Depth: 33 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: V; Moderate (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

951 kilotons of TNT

That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

19 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

33 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 200 km

USGS lists 9 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.8 on November 7, 1981. 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 125 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 29 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,860 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 101 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 193 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 230 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 189 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 101 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 284 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers