Reviewed by USGSPeru30y ago
M4.0 earthquake 28 km W of Acarí, Peru
Thursday, December 19, 1996, 05:35:48 UTC · 15.414°S, 74.879°W
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 28 km W of Acarí, Peru on Thursday, December 19, 1996, 05:35:48 UTC, at a depth of 55.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 56 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
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
66 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
56 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on December 24, 1996. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 230 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.121 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, PeruAugust 24, 1942 · 44 km N of this epicenter
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 174 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.760 km SW of Changuillo, PeruNovember 12, 1996 · 97 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 252 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.121 km SSE of Nazca, PeruJanuary 15, 1960 · 45 km N of this epicenter
- 6.924 km NNE of El Cardo, PeruFebruary 16, 1979 · 261 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 97 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7165 km SSW of Atiquipa, PeruJuly 28, 1913 · 195 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 572 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 219 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 252 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1960M7.8
Arequipa,Chuquibamba,Caraveli,Cotahuasi
13 Jan 1960 · 231 km away · intensity X
63 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914
Pararca,Paysa,Colta,Oyala
2 Dec 1914 · 182 km away · intensity X
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 156 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 129 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.