Reviewed by USGSChile16y ago
M5.0 earthquake 1 km ESE of Carahue, Chile
Monday, August 9, 2010, 12:13:43 UTC · 38.717°S, 73.149°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 1 km ESE of Carahue, Chile on Monday, August 9, 2010, 12:13:43 UTC, at a depth of 38.7 km (shallow). USGS received 30 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on August 6, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 39 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 30
- Max intensity IV
- 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
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
144 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
39 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quillota, Valparaíso, Chile | II · Weak | 6 | 670 km |
| Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile | II · Weak | 4 | 645 km |
| Temuco, Araucanía, Chile | IV · Light | 3 | 62 km |
| Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile | II · Weak | 3 | 626 km |
| Calera, Valparaíso, Chile | I · Not felt | 3 | 682 km |
| Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile | I · Not felt | 3 | 650 km |
| Curicó, Maule, Chile | I · Not felt | 2 | 449 km |
| Nueva Imperial, Araucanía, Chile | III · Weak | 1 | 42 km |
| Valdivia, Los Lagos, Chile | II · Weak | 1 | 128 km |
| San Bernardo, Metropolitana, Chile | I · Not felt | 1 | 610 km |
| Quilpué, Valparaíso, Chile | I · Not felt | 1 | 648 km |
| San Antonio, Valparaíso, Chile | I · Not felt | 1 | 585 km |
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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.0 on August 22, 2010. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 335 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 · 68 km N of this epicenter
- 8.82010 Maule, Chile EarthquakeFebruary 27, 2010 · 289 km N of this epicenter
- 8.14 km ESE of Cañete, ChileMay 21, 1960 · 101 km N of this epicenter
- 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 282 km N of this epicenter
- 7.838 km WNW of Traiguén, ChileMay 22, 1960 · 74 km N of this epicenter
- 7.744 km SSE of Cañete, ChileMay 10, 1975 · 60 km N of this epicenter
- 7.523 km SE of Chiguayante, ChileMay 6, 1953 · 182 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4Off the coast of Araucania, ChileNovember 1, 1960 · 166 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,974 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 286 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
- 1960M9.5
Puerto Montt, Valdivia
22 May 1960 · 68 km away · intensity XII
2,226 deaths$1.0 billion damagetsunami
- 2010M8.8
Maule, Concepcion, Talcahuano
27 Feb 2010 · 289 km away · intensity IX
558 deaths$30 billion damagetsunami
- 1751M8.5
Concepcion, Chillan, Talca, Tutuben, Curico
25 May 1751 · 249 km away · intensity XI
65 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1949M7.3
Angol, Traiguen
20 Apr 1949 · 85 km away
57 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1835M8.2
Concepcion
20 Feb 1835 · 210 km away · intensity XI
53 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.