M8.0 earthquake 41 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, Peru

Wednesday, August 15, 2007, 23:40:57 UTC · 13.386°S, 76.603°W

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck 41 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, Peru on Wednesday, August 15, 2007, 23:40:57 UTC, at a depth of 39.0 km (shallow). USGS received 456 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IX (violent). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.1 on August 24, 1942.

Magnitude: 8.0; Great · mwc
Depth: 39 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 456; Max intensity IX
Est. shaking: VIII; Severe (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

15 megatons of TNT

That is about 1,002 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 31,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

122 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

39 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

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
Lima, Lima Provincias, Peru	VI · Strong	347	158 km
Chincha Alta, Ica, Peru	VIII · Severe	8	63 km
Pisco, Ica, Peru	IX · Violent	7	67 km
Cusco, Cusco, Peru	V · Moderate	7	501 km
San Luis, Lima Provincias, Peru	VI · Strong	6	155 km
Huánuco, Huánuco, Peru	IV · Light	6	387 km
Imperial, Lima Provincias, Peru	VII · Very strong	5	58 km
Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru	V · Moderate	5	640 km
Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia	III · Weak	5	2011 km
Ica, Ica, Peru	VIII · Severe	4	124 km
Nazca, Ica, Peru	VII · Very strong	4	243 km
Trujillo, La Libertad, Peru	IV · Light	4	642 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 400 km

USGS lists 146 M2.5+ earthquakes within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on August 16, 2007. 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 215 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 42 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,915 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 167 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
2007M8.0
Ica, Pisco, Lima
15 Aug 2007 · 0 km away · intensity VIII
596 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
1969M6.6
Huaytapallana, Lampa, Chilifruta
1 Oct 1969 · 241 km away · intensity XI
130 deaths$5 million damage
1974M8.1
Lima, Callao
3 Oct 1974 · 179 km away · intensity IX
78 deaths$10 million damagetsunami
1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 152 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 191 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers