Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago
M3.6 earthquake 47 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile
Thursday, September 17, 1998, 04:14:11 UTC · 30.712°S, 71.673°W
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 47 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile on Thursday, September 17, 1998, 04:14:11 UTC, at a depth of 38.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.6
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 39 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
4 tons of TNT
That is about 1/3,975 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 126 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
90 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
39 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on September 29, 1998. 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 442 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 189 km S of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 68 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 270 km S of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 217 km S of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 205 km S of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 277 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2135 km W of Valparaíso, ChileOctober 16, 1981 · 300 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.136 km SW of Monte Patria, ChileOctober 15, 1997 · 50 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 46 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,769 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 256 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 193 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 269 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
- 1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 204 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
- 1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 256 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 32 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.