Reviewed by USGSChile39y ago
M4.5 earthquake 81 km E of Taltal, Chile
Friday, April 1, 1988, 23:52:00 UTC · 25.460°S, 69.681°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 81 km E of Taltal, Chile on Friday, April 1, 1988, 23:52:00 UTC, at a depth of 314.4 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on March 30, 1988.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 314 km
- Deep
- 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
189 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: deep
314 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 288 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 243 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.060 km W of Diego de Almagro, ChileDecember 4, 1918 · 148 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.79 km SSW of Taltal, ChileDecember 28, 1966 · 85 km W of this epicenter
- 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 129 km N of this epicenter
- 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 95 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.550 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, ChileJune 8, 1909 · 113 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4Atacama, ChileApril 18, 1939 · 229 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.454 km WSW of Diego de Almagro, ChileOctober 4, 1983 · 149 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 23 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M7.6
Chile
5 Oct 1859 · 220 km away · intensity X
10 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1983M7.3
Northern: Copoapo-Chanaral
4 Oct 1983 · 149 km away · intensity VII
5 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1966M7.8
Taltal, Catalina
28 Dec 1966 · 102 km away · intensity VIII
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
- 1946M7.9
Northern
2 Aug 1946 · 142 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Taltal
13 Jul 1936 · 111 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1987M7.3
Antofagasta, Arica
5 Mar 1987 · 129 km away · intensity VI
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.