QuakeScout
Magnitude4.2

Reviewed by USGSPeru31y ago

M4.2 earthquake 147 km WSW of Huarmey, Peru

Friday, March 1, 1996, 08:45:46 UTC · 10.702°S, 79.340°W

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 147 km WSW of Huarmey, Peru on Friday, March 1, 1996, 08:45:46 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.2
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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

30 tons of TNT

That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

57 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 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 127 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.221 km SE of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 215 km E of this epicenter
  2. 8.167 km W of Paramonga, PeruOctober 17, 1966 · 97 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.934 km SW of Chimbote, PeruMay 31, 1970 · 169 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.677 km WSW of Callao, PeruOctober 3, 1974 · 242 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.5123 km WSW of Puerto Santa, PeruFebruary 21, 1996 · 126 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.287 km SW of Callao, PeruNovember 9, 1974 · 262 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.155 km SW of Santiago de Cao, PeruJune 21, 1937 · 272 km N of this epicenter
  8. 7.0179 km WSW of Huarmey, PeruSeptember 3, 1967 · 39 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 74,655 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1970M7.9

    Northern, Pisco, Chiclayo

    31 May 1970 · 177 km away · intensity X

    66,794 deaths$530 million damagetsunami

  2. 1746M8.0

    Lima, Callao

    29 Oct 1746 · 274 km away · intensity XI

    5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

  3. 1725M7.7

    Trujillo, Ancash, Lima

    7 Jan 1725 · 193 km away · intensity IX

    1,500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1940M8.2

    Peru

    24 May 1940 · 257 km away · intensity X

    179 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1966M8.1

    Lima,Huacho,Huaura, Chancay,Supe,San Nicolas

    17 Oct 1966 · 77 km away · intensity IX

    110 deaths$35 million damagetsunami

  6. 1974M8.1

    Lima, Callao

    3 Oct 1974 · 243 km away · intensity IX

    78 deaths$10 million damagetsunami

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

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