M6.8 earthquake 30 km E of Macas, Ecuador

Friday, November 16, 2007, 03:13:00 UTC · 2.312°S, 77.838°W

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 30 km E of Macas, Ecuador on Friday, November 16, 2007, 03:13:00 UTC, at a depth of 122.9 km (intermediate). USGS received 114 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VII (very strong). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on October 28, 1997.

Magnitude: 6.8; Strong · mwc
Depth: 123 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 114; Max intensity VII
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

239 kilotons of TNT

That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

125 km

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

Depth: intermediate

123 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

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
Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador	V · Moderate	39	260 km
Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador	III · Weak	22	274 km
Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador	IV · Light	9	190 km
Manta, Manabí, Ecuador	IV · Light	9	374 km
Puyo, Pastaza, Ecuador	IV · Light	5	154 km
Macas, Morona Santiago, Ecuador	V · Moderate	4	126 km
Loja, Loja, Ecuador	IV · Light	4	269 km
Samborondón, Guayas, Ecuador	VI · Strong	2	247 km
Riobamba, Chimborazo, Ecuador	V · Moderate	2	168 km
Milagro, Guayas, Ecuador	IV · Light	2	231 km
Paita, Piura, Peru	III · Weak	2	492 km
Lima, Lima Provincias, Peru	II · Weak	2	1089 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 100 km

USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on December 3, 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 183 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 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 122,105 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1868M7.7
Guayaquil,Ibarra; Colombia: San Pablo
16 Aug 1868 · 294 km away · intensity X
70,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1797M8.3
Riobamba, Quito, Cuzco; Peru; Colombia
4 Feb 1797 · 119 km away · intensity XI
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
1949M6.5
Tungurahua
5 Aug 1949 · 130 km away
6,000 deaths$8 million damage
1987M7.2
Napo Province, Quito, Tulcan
6 Mar 1987 · 266 km away
5,000 deaths$1.5 billion damage
1757M7.0
Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, Latacunga
22 Feb 1757 · 178 km away · intensity IX
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1924M6.9
Ecuador
3 Mar 1924 · 116 km away
40 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers