Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago
M2.9 earthquake 7 km SSW of Molina, Chile
Saturday, December 5, 1998, 03:23:10 UTC · 35.179°S, 71.306°W
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake struck 7 km SSW of Molina, Chile on Saturday, December 5, 1998, 03:23:10 UTC, at a depth of 94.4 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.9
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 94 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 kg of TNT
That is about 1/44,601 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1,413 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
202 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: intermediate
94 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 lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.6 on December 26, 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 284 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 233 km N of this epicenter
- 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 149 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 285 km N of this epicenter
- 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 88 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 188 km W of this epicenter
- 7.523 km SE of Chiguayante, ChileMay 6, 1953 · 255 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 296 km N of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 222 km N 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 34,763 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 146 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 251 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 66 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
- 1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 298 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
- 1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 251 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.