QuakeScout
Magnitude4.0

Reviewed by USGSPeru30y ago

M4.0 earthquake 214 km WSW of Puerto Casma, Peru

Tuesday, March 26, 1996, 06:58:49 UTC · 10.237°S, 80.174°W

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 214 km WSW of Puerto Casma, Peru on Tuesday, March 26, 1996, 06:58:49 UTC, at a depth of 36.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.0
Light · mb
Depth
36 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

15 tons of TNT

That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

1 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

36 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 106 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.167 km W of Paramonga, PeruOctober 17, 1966 · 196 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.934 km SW of Chimbote, PeruMay 31, 1970 · 181 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.5123 km WSW of Puerto Santa, PeruFebruary 21, 1996 · 96 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.155 km SW of Santiago de Cao, PeruJune 21, 1937 · 226 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.0179 km WSW of Huarmey, PeruSeptember 3, 1967 · 69 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.928 km W of Paramonga, PeruSeptember 24, 1963 · 233 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.710 km SSW of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 297 km E of this epicenter
  8. 6.581 km W of Paramonga, PeruSeptember 23, 1995 · 181 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 68,421 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1970M7.9

    Northern, Pisco, Chiclayo

    31 May 1970 · 190 km away · intensity X

    66,794 deaths$530 million damagetsunami

  2. 1725M7.7

    Trujillo, Ancash, Lima

    7 Jan 1725 · 188 km away · intensity IX

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

  3. 1966M8.1

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

    17 Oct 1966 · 177 km away · intensity IX

    110 deaths$35 million damagetsunami

  4. 1996M7.5

    Northern: Chimbote, Callao

    21 Feb 1996 · 96 km away · intensity IV

    12 deathstsunami

  5. 1962M6.4

    Casma,Huaraz,Quiruvilca,Trujillo

    18 Apr 1962 · 140 km away

    4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1963M7.0

    Huayllacayan,Cajacay,Malyas,Malvas,Huaraz

    24 Sep 1963 · 236 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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