M7.7 earthquake 36 km ESE of Tocopilla, Chile

Wednesday, November 14, 2007, 15:40:50 UTC · 22.247°S, 69.890°W

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 36 km ESE of Tocopilla, Chile on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, 15:40:50 UTC, at a depth of 40.0 km (shallow). USGS received 108 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IX (violent). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on June 13, 2005.

Magnitude: 7.7; Major · mwc
Depth: 40 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 108; 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

5.4 megatons of TNT

That is about 355 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11,220 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

83 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

40 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
Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile	VI · Strong	25	228 km
Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile	VII · Very strong	18	168 km
Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile	II · Weak	15	1245 km
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil	III · Weak	8	2391 km
Calama, Antofagasta, Chile	VII · Very strong	7	109 km
Tocopilla, Antofagasta, Chile	VIII · Severe	6	53 km
La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile	III · Weak	5	859 km
La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia	III · Weak	5	663 km
Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru	III · Weak	4	672 km
Cochabamba, Cochabamba, Bolivia	III · Weak	2	666 km
Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil	III · Weak	2	2422 km
Copiapó, Atacama, Chile	V · Moderate	1	569 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 118 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.8 on November 15, 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 607 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 43 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,410 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 104 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
2005M7.7
Tarapaca
13 Jun 2005 · 261 km away
11 deaths$5 million damage
1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 124 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 128 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 0 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 73 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers