QuakeScout
Magnitude5.0

Reviewed by USGSChile18y ago

M5.0 earthquake 161 km E of Iquique, Chile

Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 21:56:40 UTC · 20.389°S, 68.615°W

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 161 km E of Iquique, Chile on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 21:56:40 UTC, at a depth of 114.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on September 11, 2008.

Magnitude
5.0
Moderate · mb
Depth
115 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 tons of TNT

That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

123 km

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

Depth: intermediate

115 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 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 533 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8102 km ENE of Iquique, ChileJune 13, 2005 · 75 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 207 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.736 km ESE of Tocopilla, ChileNovember 14, 2007 · 245 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 142 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.334 km NE of Tocopilla, ChileDecember 21, 1967 · 216 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.334 km S of Iquique, ChileFebruary 23, 1933 · 165 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.2Near the coast of Tarapaca, ChileOctober 4, 1940 · 194 km W of this epicenter
  8. 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 119 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,411 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1877M8.3

    Off North Coast

    10 May 1877 · 231 km away · intensity XI

    2,385 deaths$2 million damagetsunami

  2. 2005M7.7

    Tarapaca

    13 Jun 2005 · 75 km away

    11 deaths$5 million damage

  3. 1987M6.9

    Arica, Iquique

    8 Aug 1987 · 209 km away · intensity VII

    5 deaths$1 million damage

  4. 1953M7.4

    Northern

    7 Dec 1953 · 190 km away

    3 deaths$7 million damage

  5. 2007M7.7

    Tocopilla, Maria Elena

    14 Nov 2007 · 245 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1970M4.6

    Potosi

    6 Mar 1970 · 294 km away

    2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers

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