Reviewed by USGSChile21y ago
M4.9 earthquake 126 km ENE of Iquique, Chile
Monday, September 19, 2005, 13:20:56 UTC · 19.982°S, 68.967°W
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 126 km ENE of Iquique, Chile on Monday, September 19, 2005, 13:20:56 UTC, at a depth of 92.4 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on August 14, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mwc
- Depth
- 92 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
168 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
92 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on October 16, 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 468 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 24 km W of this epicenter
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 258 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 130 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 235 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 141 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 152 km W of this epicenter
- 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 171 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.268 km SSE of Arica, ChileAugust 8, 1987 · 151 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28,107 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1868M8.5
Arica
13 Aug 1868 · 263 km away · intensity XI
25,000 deaths$300 million damagetsunami
- 1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 232 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
- 1833M7.7
Peru: Tacna; Chile: Arica
18 Sep 1833 · 288 km away · intensity VIII
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 24 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
- 1987M6.9
Arica, Iquique
8 Aug 1987 · 151 km away · intensity VII
5 deaths$1 million damage
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 237 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.