Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago
M2.5 earthquake 21 km ENE of Chimbarongo, Chile
Monday, December 14, 1998, 12:33:38 UTC · 34.627°S, 70.829°W
A magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck 21 km ENE of Chimbarongo, Chile on Monday, December 14, 1998, 12:33:38 UTC, at a depth of 97.6 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 2.5
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 98 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
85 kg of TNT
That is about 1/177,558 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 5,623 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
212 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
98 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 M3.2 on January 13, 1999. 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 326 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 · 253 km N of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 192 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 224 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 226 km N of this epicenter
- 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 141 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 227 km W of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 237 km N of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 176 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 49,141 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 222 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 277 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 211 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 250 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 115 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 185 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.