QuakeScout
Magnitude5.2

Reviewed by USGSChile43y ago

M5.2 earthquake 56 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, Chile

Monday, October 17, 1983, 01:19:43 UTC · 26.102°S, 70.536°W

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 56 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, Chile on Monday, October 17, 1983, 01:19:43 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on October 16, 1983.

Magnitude
5.2
Moderate · mb
Depth
33 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

951 tons of TNT

That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

112 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

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 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 210 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.594 km ENE of Vallenar, ChileNovember 11, 1922 · 253 km S of this epicenter
  2. 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 42 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.79 km SSW of Taltal, ChileDecember 28, 1966 · 68 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 159 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 7 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.4Atacama, ChileApril 18, 1939 · 129 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.454 km WSW of Diego de Almagro, ChileOctober 4, 1983 · 48 km S of this epicenter
  8. 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 154 km N 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 722 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1922M8.5

    Atacama

    11 Nov 1922 · 253 km away · intensity XI

    700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1859M7.6

    Chile

    5 Oct 1859 · 140 km away · intensity X

    10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  3. 1983M7.3

    Northern: Copoapo-Chanaral

    4 Oct 1983 · 48 km away · intensity VII

    5 deaths$1 million damagetsunami

  4. 1966M7.8

    Taltal, Catalina

    28 Dec 1966 · 69 km away · intensity VIII

    3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami

  5. 1946M7.9

    Northern

    2 Aug 1946 · 44 km away

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1936M7.3

    Taltal

    13 Jul 1936 · 186 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages