QuakeScout
Magnitude4.9

Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago

M4.9 earthquake 41 km S of Tocopilla, Chile

Monday, March 10, 2008, 05:06:09 UTC · 22.462°S, 70.148°W

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 41 km S of Tocopilla, Chile on Monday, March 10, 2008, 05:06:09 UTC, at a depth of 30.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on March 1, 2008.

Magnitude
4.9
Light · mb
Depth
31 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 tons of TNT

That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

95 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

31 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 631 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.2121 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileDecember 9, 1950 · 284 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 8.036 km NNE of Antofagasta, ChileJuly 30, 1995 · 99 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 292 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 36 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.684 km SSE of Antofagasta, ChileMarch 5, 1987 · 214 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.583 km NNE of Taltal, ChileJuly 13, 1936 · 251 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 68 km N of this epicenter
  8. 7.377 km NNE of Taltal, ChileDecember 2, 1960 · 253 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 36 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,409 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 113 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  2. 2005M7.7

    Tarapaca

    13 Jun 2005 · 292 km away

    11 deaths$5 million damage

  3. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 154 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  4. 1995M8.0

    Antofagasta, Calama, Mejillones

    30 Jul 1995 · 99 km away · intensity VII

    3 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  5. 2007M7.7

    Tocopilla, Maria Elena

    14 Nov 2007 · 36 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1967M7.5

    Northern

    21 Dec 1967 · 108 km away

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages