QuakeScout
Magnitude4.5

Reviewed by USGSPanama44y ago

M4.5 earthquake 180 km S of Punta de Burica, Panama

Sunday, September 5, 1982, 06:58:22 UTC · 6.412°N, 82.650°W

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 180 km S of Punta de Burica, Panama on Sunday, September 5, 1982, 06:58:22 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.5 on August 22, 1982.

Magnitude
4.5
Light · mb
Depth
10 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 earthquake

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

25 km

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

Depth: shallow

10 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 163 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.544 km ESE of Burica, PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 161 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.570 km WSW of Golfito, Costa RicaDecember 5, 1941 · 242 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 172 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.259 km SSE of Burica, PanamaJuly 26, 1962 · 123 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.056 km SSE of Cambutal, PanamaMay 2, 1943 · 256 km E of this epicenter
  6. 6.8south of PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 120 km N of this epicenter
  7. 6.8146 km S of Punta de Burica, PanamaAugust 19, 1982 · 34 km N of this epicenter
  8. 6.8228 km WSW of Burica, PanamaMarch 3, 1906 · 226 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1941M7.6

    Costa Rica-Panama

    5 Dec 1941 · 262 km away · intensity IV

    6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1854M7.3

    Costa Rica-Panama

    5 Aug 1854 · 235 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1962M7.4

    Panama

    26 Jul 1962 · 141 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1979M6.5

    Puerto Armuelles

    1 Jul 1979 · 214 km away

    $2 million damage

  5. 1934M7.7

    Panama-Costa Rica

    18 Jul 1934 · 177 km away

    Under $1 million damagetsunami

  6. 1941M6.9

    Costa Rica-Panama

    6 Dec 1941 · 276 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

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