M7.5 earthquake 123 km WSW of Puerto Santa, Peru

Wednesday, February 21, 1996, 12:51:01 UTC · 9.593°S, 79.587°W

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 123 km WSW of Puerto Santa, Peru on Wednesday, February 21, 1996, 12:51:01 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on May 31, 1970.

Magnitude: 7.5; Major · mw
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 178 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

93 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

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 200 km

USGS lists 25 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on February 21, 1996. 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 120 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 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 69,225 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1970M7.9
Northern, Pisco, Chiclayo
31 May 1970 · 97 km away · intensity X
66,794 deaths$530 million damagetsunami
1725M7.7
Trujillo, Ancash, Lima
7 Jan 1725 · 92 km away · intensity IX
1,500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1946M7.3
Jocaibamba,Cerro Angaschaj,Cerro Sillapata
10 Nov 1946 · 259 km away · intensity XI
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1966M8.1
Lima,Huacho,Huaura, Chancay,Supe,San Nicolas
17 Oct 1966 · 165 km away · intensity IX
110 deaths$35 million damagetsunami
1996M7.5
Northern: Chimbote, Callao
21 Feb 1996 · 0 km away · intensity IV
12 deathstsunami
1962M6.4
Casma,Huaraz,Quiruvilca,Trujillo
18 Apr 1962 · 81 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers