Reviewed by USGSChile29y ago
M3.8 earthquake 76 km WSW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Thursday, February 5, 1998, 18:39:35 UTC · 23.260°S, 68.849°W
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 76 km WSW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on Thursday, February 5, 1998, 18:39:35 UTC, at a depth of 100.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.8
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 100 km
- Intermediate
- 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
8 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,992 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 63 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
195 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
100 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 561 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 124 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 148 km W of this epicenter
- 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 183 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 209 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 191 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 220 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.272 km N of Taltal, ChileFebruary 5, 1988 · 231 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.134 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileJanuary 30, 1998 · 156 km SW 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 2,396 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 259 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 130 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 148 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 186 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Taltal
13 Jul 1936 · 181 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1987M7.3
Antofagasta, Arica
5 Mar 1987 · 183 km away · intensity VI
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.