Reviewed by USGSChile16y ago
M4.5 earthquake 132 km WSW of Carahue, Chile
Saturday, March 27, 2010, 20:47:22 UTC · 39.057°S, 74.617°W
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 132 km WSW of Carahue, Chile on Saturday, March 27, 2010, 20:47:22 UTC, at a depth of 12.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on March 27, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 13 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
31 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
13 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 257 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.51960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake)May 22, 1960 · 146 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.14 km ESE of Cañete, ChileMay 21, 1960 · 176 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.838 km WNW of Traiguén, ChileMay 22, 1960 · 176 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.744 km SSE of Cañete, ChileMay 10, 1975 · 155 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.523 km SE of Chiguayante, ChileMay 6, 1953 · 267 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Off the coast of Araucania, ChileNovember 1, 1960 · 75 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4124 km W of Lebu, ChileFebruary 27, 2010 · 148 km N of this epicenter
- 7.350 km SSW of Carahue, ChileDecember 10, 1920 · 100 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,342 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1960M9.5
Puerto Montt, Valdivia
22 May 1960 · 146 km away · intensity XII
2,226 deaths$1.0 billion damagetsunami
- 1949M7.3
Angol, Traiguen
20 Apr 1949 · 152 km away
57 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1835M8.2
Concepcion
20 Feb 1835 · 284 km away · intensity XI
53 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1898M6.5
Concepcion
23 Jul 1898 · 284 km away · intensity VIII
6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1975M7.7
Central
10 May 1975 · 155 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1962M7.3
Central
14 Feb 1962 · 231 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.