Reviewed by USGSChile16y ago
M3.9 earthquake 54 km NNW of Constitución, Chile
Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 23:08:18 UTC · 34.852°S, 72.547°W
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck 54 km NNW of Constitución, Chile on Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 23:08:18 UTC, at a depth of 21.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · ml
- Depth
- 22 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
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
22 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 647 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.82010 Maule, Chile EarthquakeFebruary 27, 2010 · 145 km S of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1906 Valparaiso, Chile EarthquakeAugust 17, 1906 · 293 km N of this epicenter
- 8.025 km WSW of Valparaíso, ChileMarch 3, 1985 · 201 km N of this epicenter
- 7.826 km WNW of San Carlos, ChileJanuary 25, 1939 · 163 km S of this epicenter
- 7.819 km NNE of Hacienda La Calera, ChileJuly 9, 1971 · 279 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.730 km NNE of Constitución, ChileDecember 1, 1928 · 36 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7103 km NW of Constitución, ChileJanuary 30, 1914 · 70 km W of this epicenter
- 7.523 km SE of Chiguayante, ChileMay 6, 1953 · 251 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 41 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 35,721 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 158 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
- 1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 212 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 2010M8.8
Maule, Concepcion, Talcahuano
27 Feb 2010 · 145 km away · intensity IX
558 deaths$30 billion damagetsunami
- 1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 300 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
- 1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 53 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 206 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.