Reviewed by USGSChile28y ago
M3.7 earthquake 76 km WNW of Illapel, Chile
Thursday, January 14, 1999, 16:44:07 UTC · 31.287°S, 71.871°W
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 76 km WNW of Illapel, Chile on Thursday, January 14, 1999, 16:44:07 UTC, at a depth of 20.5 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.7
- Minor · md
- Depth
- 21 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
5 tons of TNT
That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
74 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
21 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on January 31, 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 467 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 · 132 km S of this epicenter
- 8.145 km NNW of Illapel, ChileApril 6, 1943 · 48 km E of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 205 km S of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 162 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.47 km SSE of La Ligua, ChileMarch 28, 1965 · 150 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.419 km S of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 4, 1985 · 214 km S of this epicenter
- 7.237 km S of San Antonio, ChileMarch 18, 1931 · 295 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2135 km W of Valparaíso, ChileOctober 16, 1981 · 234 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 43 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,769 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 191 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 139 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 206 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
- 1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 149 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
- 1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 191 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 61 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.