Reviewed by USGSPeru25y ago
M4.4 earthquake 10 km E of Huarichancara, Peru
Saturday, July 21, 2001, 22:33:47 UTC · 15.631°S, 70.967°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 10 km E of Huarichancara, Peru on Saturday, July 21, 2001, 22:33:47 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
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
300 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
33 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 281 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 · 294 km W of this epicenter
- 7.750 km N of Sandia, PeruAugust 15, 1963 · 258 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 243 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.581 km SSE of Puerto Rosario de Laberinto, PeruJuly 26, 1958 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 200 km W of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 90 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.130 km SW of Islay (Matarani), PeruApril 12, 1988 · 225 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, PeruJanuary 15, 1958 · 175 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 2,132 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 291 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 147 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 220 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1707M5.8
Cuzco
17 Sep 1707 · 228 km away · intensity X
160 deaths
- 1913M6.3
Amyaraes, Abancay, Casaya, Soraya
4 Nov 1913 · 262 km away · intensity X
150 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1950M6.0
Cusco
21 May 1950 · 262 km away · intensity VII
129 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.