Reviewed by USGSPanama21y ago
M4.2 earthquake 269 km SW of Arenas, Panama
Friday, May 6, 2005, 00:39:09 UTC · 5.570°N, 82.513°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 269 km SW of Arenas, Panama on Friday, May 6, 2005, 00:39:09 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- 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 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
41 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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on May 30, 2005. 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 228 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 · 254 km N of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SW of Quebrada de Piedra, PanamaJanuary 20, 1904 · 256 km N of this epicenter
- 7.259 km SSE of Burica, PanamaJuly 26, 1962 · 217 km N of this epicenter
- 7.056 km SSE of Cambutal, PanamaMay 2, 1943 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8south of PanamaJuly 18, 1934 · 210 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8146 km S of Punta de Burica, PanamaAugust 19, 1982 · 129 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8228 km WSW of Burica, PanamaMarch 3, 1906 · 279 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.878 km S of Boca Chica, PanamaSeptember 18, 1962 · 217 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1962M7.4
Panama
26 Jul 1962 · 222 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 2002M6.5
Baru, Alanje, David; Costa Rica: Laurel
31 Jul 2002 · 264 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1934M7.7
Panama-Costa Rica
18 Jul 1934 · 270 km away
Under $1 million damagetsunami
- 1962M6.8
Costa Rica-Panama
12 Mar 1962 · 272 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M6.7
Azuero Peninsula
2 Oct 1913 · 271 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1950
Panama
30 Apr 1950 · 117 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.