M7.8 earthquake 102 km ENE of Iquique, Chile

Monday, June 13, 2005, 22:44:33 UTC · 19.987°S, 69.197°W

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 102 km ENE of Iquique, Chile on Monday, June 13, 2005, 22:44:33 UTC, at a depth of 115.6 km (intermediate). USGS received 115 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IX (violent). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude: 7.8; Major · mwb
Depth: 116 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 115; Max intensity IX
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

7.6 megatons of TNT

That is about 502 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15,849 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

167 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: intermediate

116 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile	VIII · Severe	41	154 km
Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru	V · Moderate	16	482 km
Arica, Tarapacá, Chile	VII · Very strong	15	232 km
Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile	III · Weak	9	439 km
Calama, Antofagasta, Chile	VI · Strong	7	297 km
La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia	III · Weak	4	417 km
Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador	III · Weak	4	2418 km
Tocopilla, Antofagasta, Chile	VI · Strong	3	279 km
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil	III · Weak	3	2369 km
Ilo, Moquegua, Peru	V · Moderate	2	363 km
Copiapó, Atacama, Chile	II · Weak	2	832 km
Marcona, Ica, Peru	II · Weak	2	826 km

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 200 km

USGS lists 72 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on June 21, 2005. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 464 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 50 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,108 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 244 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 216 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 0 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
1987M6.9
Arica, Iquique
8 Aug 1987 · 136 km away · intensity VII
5 deaths$1 million damage
1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 241 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers