M5.3 earthquake 23 km WSW of San Juan, Peru

Sunday, December 1, 1996, 00:17:37 UTC · 15.450°S, 75.361°W

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 23 km WSW of San Juan, Peru on Sunday, December 1, 1996, 00:17:37 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on November 27, 1996.

Magnitude: 5.3; Moderate · mwc
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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

27 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano 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 75 km

USGS lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on December 28, 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 207 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 27 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 530 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 266 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 299 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1960M7.8
Arequipa,Chuquibamba,Caraveli,Cotahuasi
13 Jan 1960 · 282 km away · intensity X
63 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914
Pararca,Paysa,Colta,Oyala
2 Dec 1914 · 233 km away · intensity X
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 150 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 85 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers