Reviewed by USGSPeru25y ago
M4.4 earthquake 72 km SW of Punta de Bombón, Peru
Saturday, July 21, 2001, 19:10:57 UTC · 17.668°S, 72.240°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 72 km SW of Punta de Bombón, Peru on Saturday, July 21, 2001, 19:10:57 UTC, at a depth of 46.4 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 46 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
84 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
46 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on July 22, 2001. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.428 km SSW of Punta de Bombón, Peru25y ago · 44 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.3105 km WSW of Pacocha, Peru25y ago · 42 km S of this epicenter
- 4.287 km SSW of Punta de Bombón, Peru25y ago · 23 km S of this epicenter
- 4.145 km SSW of Islay (Matarani), Peru25y ago · 34 km N of this epicenter
- 4.753 km SW of Islay (Matarani), Peru25y ago · 46 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 302 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.46 km SSW of Atico, PeruJune 23, 2001 · 216 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 203 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 22 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 161 km N of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 178 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.268 km SSE of Arica, ChileAugust 8, 1987 · 281 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.130 km SW of Islay (Matarani), PeruApril 12, 1988 · 53 km N of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, PeruJanuary 15, 1958 · 116 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,593 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 167 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 145 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 132 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 190 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2001M8.4
Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Ayacucho
23 Jun 2001 · 216 km away · intensity VIII
103 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1991M4.7
Maca, Chivay, Yanque
23 Jul 1991 · 232 km away · intensity V
92 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.