Reviewed by USGSPanama27y ago
M6.3 earthquake 245 km S of Punta de Burica, Panama
Wednesday, March 31, 1999, 05:54:42 UTC · 5.827°N, 82.616°W
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 245 km S of Punta de Burica, Panama on Wednesday, March 31, 1999, 05:54:42 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on May 18, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mwc
- Depth
- 10 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
43 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
29 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Nazca plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 225 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.544 km ESE of Burica, PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 226 km N of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 231 km N of this epicenter
- 7.259 km SSE of Burica, PanamaJuly 26, 1962 · 188 km N of this epicenter
- 7.056 km SSE of Cambutal, PanamaMay 2, 1943 · 270 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8south of PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 183 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8146 km S of Punta de Burica, PanamaAugust 19, 1982 · 99 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8228 km WSW of Burica, PanamaMarch 3, 1906 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.878 km S of Boca Chica, PanamaSeptember 18, 1962 · 191 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1854M7.3
Costa Rica-Panama
5 Aug 1854 · 300 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1962M7.4
Panama
26 Jul 1962 · 198 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1979M6.5
Puerto Armuelles
1 Jul 1979 · 279 km away
$2 million damage
- 1934M7.7
Panama-Costa Rica
18 Jul 1934 · 242 km away
Under $1 million damagetsunami
- 1962M6.8
Costa Rica-Panama
12 Mar 1962 · 243 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M6.7
Azuero Peninsula
2 Oct 1913 · 264 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.