Reviewed by USGSPeru39y ago
M6.6 earthquake 36 km SSW of Locumba, Peru
Thursday, August 13, 1987, 15:23:06 UTC · 17.897°S, 70.931°W
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 36 km SSW of Locumba, Peru on Thursday, August 13, 1987, 15:23:06 UTC, at a depth of 36.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on August 8, 1987.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 37 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
120 kilotons of TNT
That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 251 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
167 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
37 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 182 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 260 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 237 km S of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 199 km N of this epicenter
- 7.268 km SSE of Arica, ChileAugust 8, 1987 · 160 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, PeruJanuary 15, 1958 · 198 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9119 km W of Iquique, ChileSeptember 15, 1911 · 257 km S of this epicenter
- 6.925 km ENE of Arica, ChileAugust 30, 1906 · 102 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.924 km NNE of El Cardo, PeruFebruary 16, 1979 · 248 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,299 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 79 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 40 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 192 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 294 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1958M7.0
Arequipa
15 Jan 1958 · 230 km away · intensity IX
28 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.9
Arequipa
16 Feb 1979 · 248 km away
18 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.