Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago
M3.1 earthquake 13 km E of Limache, Chile
Friday, December 18, 1998, 16:35:28 UTC · 33.007°S, 71.127°W
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 13 km E of Limache, Chile on Friday, December 18, 1998, 16:35:28 UTC, at a depth of 49.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.1
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 50 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
674 kg of TNT
That is about 1/22,353 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 708 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
163 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
50 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 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.0 on January 17, 1999. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.014 km WNW of Hacienda La Calera, Chile28y ago · 38 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.311 km NNW of Hacienda La Calera, Chile28y ago · 37 km N of this epicenter
- 2.612 km SW of Llaillay, Chile28y ago · 13 km NE of this epicenter
- 2.812 km E of Limache, Chile28y ago · 3 km S of this epicenter
- 2.523 km S of Llaillay, Chile28y ago · 16 km E of this epicenter
- 3.321 km WNW of Lampa, Chile28y ago · 21 km S of this epicenter
- 2.70 km NW of Hacienda La Calera, Chile28y ago · 27 km N of this epicenter
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 · 72 km N of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 195 km N of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 71 km W of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 44 km N of this epicenter
- 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 254 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 281 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 55 km N of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 55 km SW 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 29,465 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Mendoza, San Luiz
20 Mar 1861 · 218 km away · intensity IX
14,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 299 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 81 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 68 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1920M6.7
Mendoza
17 Dec 1920 · 283 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 236 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.