M4.9 earthquake 53 km N of Antofagasta, Chile

Thursday, August 17, 1995, 18:54:32 UTC · 23.178°S, 70.489°W

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 53 km N of Antofagasta, Chile on Thursday, August 17, 1995, 18:54:32 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on August 10, 1995.

Magnitude: 4.9; Light · 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 tons of TNT

That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

90 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 50 km

USGS lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on August 20, 1995. 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 400 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 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,398 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 187 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 219 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 27 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
1966M7.8
Taltal, Catalina
28 Dec 1966 · 259 km away · intensity VIII
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 193 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1936M7.3
Taltal
13 Jul 1936 · 155 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers