QuakeScout
Magnitude3.4

Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago

M3.4 earthquake 89 km WSW of San Antonio, Chile

Monday, December 14, 1998, 05:05:03 UTC · 33.947°S, 72.475°W

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck 89 km WSW of San Antonio, Chile on Monday, December 14, 1998, 05:05:03 UTC, at a depth of 37.4 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.4
Minor · md
Depth
37 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2 tons of TNT

That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

45 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

37 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 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 356 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 199 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 106 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 262 km S of this epicenter
  4. 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 191 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 128 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 119 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 111 km NE 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 35,041 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1939M8.3

    Chillan

    25 Jan 1939 · 257 km away · intensity X

    30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami

  2. 1906M8.2

    South Central

    17 Aug 1906 · 114 km away · intensity XI

    4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  3. 1965M7.3

    Central

    28 Mar 1965 · 209 km away

    400 deaths$125 million damage

  4. 1928M7.6

    Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando

    1 Dec 1928 · 125 km away · intensity IX

    279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1985M8.0

    Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso

    3 Mar 1985 · 115 km away · intensity VIII

    180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami

  6. 1971M7.8

    Central

    9 Jul 1971 · 200 km away · intensity IX

    83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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