Reviewed by USGSPeru25y ago
M4.7 earthquake 52 km SW of Las Yaras, Peru
Tuesday, July 31, 2001, 01:16:58 UTC · 18.153°S, 70.953°W
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 52 km SW of Las Yaras, Peru on Tuesday, July 31, 2001, 01:16:58 UTC, at a depth of 100.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on July 27, 2001.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 100 km
- Intermediate
- 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
147 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and Altiplano plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
100 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 M5.4 on August 11, 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 337 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.651 km SW of Punta de Bombón, PeruJuly 7, 2001 · 137 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 275 km S of this epicenter
- 7.235 km N of El Cardo, PeruOctober 11, 1922 · 279 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 210 km S of this epicenter
- 7.212 km NNE of Cono Norte, PeruFebruary 26, 1914 · 226 km N of this epicenter
- 7.268 km SSE of Arica, ChileAugust 8, 1987 · 140 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.130 km SW of Islay (Matarani), PeruApril 12, 1988 · 179 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SW of Santa Rita de Siguas, PeruJanuary 15, 1958 · 218 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 49 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26,231 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 50 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 12 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1784M8.0
Arequipa,Camana,Moquegua,Tambo
13 May 1784 · 215 km away · intensity X
383 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1991M4.7
Maca, Chivay, Yanque
23 Jul 1991 · 283 km away · intensity V
92 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1958M7.0
Arequipa
15 Jan 1958 · 252 km away · intensity IX
28 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.9
Arequipa
16 Feb 1979 · 267 km away
18 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.