M5.4 earthquake 68 km N of Antofagasta, Chile

Thursday, December 13, 2007, 05:35:26 UTC · 23.048°S, 70.516°W

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 68 km N of Antofagasta, Chile on Thursday, December 13, 2007, 05:35:26 UTC, at a depth of 36.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on December 13, 2007.

Magnitude: 5.4; Moderate · mwc
Depth: 36 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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

87 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

36 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 75 km

USGS lists 27 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.7 on December 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 543 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 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,399 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1877M8.3
Off North Coast
10 May 1877 · 172 km away · intensity XI
2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 214 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
1995M8.0
Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones
30 Jul 1995 · 40 km away · intensity VII
3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami
1966M7.8
Taltal, Catalina
28 Dec 1966 · 273 km away · intensity VIII
3 deathsUnder $1 million damagetsunami
2007M7.7
Tocopilla, Maria Elena
14 Nov 2007 · 110 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 183 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers