Reviewed by USGSPeru19y ago
M4.5 earthquake 59 km WSW of Paracas, Peru
Monday, September 3, 2007, 20:56:26 UTC · 14.139°S, 76.738°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 59 km WSW of Paracas, Peru on Monday, September 3, 2007, 20:56:26 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on September 1, 2007.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
56 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on September 5, 2007. 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 246 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.121 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, PeruAugust 24, 1942 · 210 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.041 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, PeruAugust 15, 2007 · 85 km N of this epicenter
- 7.760 km SW of Changuillo, PeruNovember 12, 1996 · 149 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.677 km WSW of Callao, PeruOctober 3, 1974 · 238 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.287 km SW of Callao, PeruNovember 9, 1974 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.121 km SSE of Nazca, PeruJanuary 15, 1960 · 223 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 275 km E of this epicenter
- 6.752 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, PeruOctober 20, 2006 · 76 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 39 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,778 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 243 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 2007M8.0
Ica, Pisco, Lima
15 Aug 2007 · 85 km away · intensity VIII
596 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1974M8.1
Lima, Callao
3 Oct 1974 · 237 km away · intensity IX
78 deaths$10 million damagetsunami
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 144 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 124 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1828M8.3
Lima, Callao
30 Mar 1828 · 252 km away · intensity VII
30 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.