Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago
M3.9 earthquake 69 km SE of Rengo, Chile
Tuesday, October 27, 1998, 07:01:04 UTC · 34.793°S, 70.268°W
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 69 km SE of Rengo, Chile on Tuesday, October 27, 1998, 07:01:04 UTC, at a depth of 13.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 14 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
266 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
14 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.5 on November 21, 1998. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.537 km SE of Machalí, Chile28y ago · 40 km N of this epicenter
- 3.539 km SE of Machalí, Chile28y ago · 38 km N of this epicenter
- 3.031 km ESE of Rengo, Chile28y ago · 40 km NW of this epicenter
- 2.769 km ESE of Chimbarongo, Chile28y ago · 22 km S of this epicenter
- 2.761 km ESE of Chimbarongo, Chile28y ago · 16 km SW of this epicenter
- 3.549 km ESE of Machalí, Chile28y ago · 49 km N of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 288 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 · 286 km N of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 236 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 256 km N of this epicenter
- 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 185 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 278 km W of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 268 km N of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 218 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 35 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 49,140 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 242 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 260 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 256 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 280 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 160 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 227 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.