Reviewed by USGSPeru25y ago
M4.2 earthquake 87 km SSW of Punta de Bombón, Peru
Sunday, July 29, 2001, 02:45:57 UTC · 17.864°S, 72.181°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 87 km SSW of Punta de Bombón, Peru on Sunday, July 29, 2001, 02:45:57 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
73 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
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on July 30, 2001. 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 307 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 · 236 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.737 km SSW of Atico, PeruAugust 6, 1913 · 222 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 37 km N of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 184 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 299 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 196 km N of this epicenter
- 7.268 km SSE of Arica, ChileAugust 8, 1987 · 264 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.130 km SW of Islay (Matarani), PeruApril 12, 1988 · 76 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,559 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 149 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 131 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 153 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1821
Camana, Ocona, Caraveli
10 Jul 1821 · 212 km away · intensity VIII
162 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2001M8.4
Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Ayacucho
23 Jun 2001 · 236 km away · intensity VIII
103 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1991M4.7
Maca, Chivay, Yanque
23 Jul 1991 · 251 km away · intensity V
92 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.