Reviewed by USGSPeru19y ago
M4.0 earthquake 52 km SSW of San Vicente de Cañete, Peru
Sunday, October 21, 2007, 23:51:48 UTC · 13.470°S, 76.653°W
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 52 km SSW of San Vicente de Cañete, Peru on Sunday, October 21, 2007, 23:51:48 UTC, at a depth of 72.5 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 73 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
112 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: intermediate
73 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on November 18, 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 247 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.221 km SE of Huacho, PeruMay 24, 1940 · 265 km N of this epicenter
- 8.121 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, PeruAugust 24, 1942 · 248 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.041 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, PeruAugust 15, 2007 · 11 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.760 km SW of Changuillo, PeruNovember 12, 1996 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.677 km WSW of Callao, PeruOctober 3, 1974 · 182 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.287 km SW of Callao, PeruNovember 9, 1974 · 163 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.121 km SSE of Nazca, PeruJanuary 15, 1960 · 257 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 295 km SE of this epicenter
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 · 174 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 2007M8.0
Ica, Pisco, Lima
15 Aug 2007 · 11 km away · intensity VIII
596 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1969M6.6
Huaytapallana, Lampa, Chilifruta
1 Oct 1969 · 251 km away · intensity XI
130 deaths$5 million damage
- 1974M8.1
Lima, Callao
3 Oct 1974 · 182 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 · 184 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.