Reviewed by USGSPeru15y ago
M4.1 earthquake 60 km SW of Santiago, Peru
Sunday, October 30, 2011, 15:25:00 UTC · 14.515°S, 76.164°W
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 60 km SW of Santiago, Peru on Sunday, October 30, 2011, 15:25:00 UTC, at a depth of 15.9 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · ml
- Depth
- 16 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
72 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
16 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 lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on November 27, 2011. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 5.227 km SW of Santiago, Peru15y ago · 33 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.534 km WSW of Santiago, Peru15y ago · 30 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.861 km S of Paracas, Peru15y ago · 13 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.588 km SW of Santiago, Peru15y ago · 28 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.778 km SW of Santiago, Peru15y ago · 21 km S of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 306 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.121 km NNE of Minas de Marcona, PeruAugust 24, 1942 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.041 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, PeruAugust 15, 2007 · 134 km N of this epicenter
- 7.760 km SW of Changuillo, PeruNovember 12, 1996 · 75 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.287 km SW of Callao, PeruNovember 9, 1974 · 285 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.121 km SSE of Nazca, PeruJanuary 15, 1960 · 150 km E of this epicenter
- 6.939 km SW of Santiago, PeruOctober 28, 2011 · 23 km E of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 206 km E of this epicenter
- 6.752 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, PeruOctober 20, 2006 · 130 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 37 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 731 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2007M8.0
Ica, Pisco, Lima
15 Aug 2007 · 134 km away · intensity VIII
596 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 94 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 57 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1996M7.7
Chincha Alta, Acari, Nazca, Marcona
12 Nov 1996 · 75 km away · intensity VIII
14 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1974M6.3
Lima, Yauyos
5 Jan 1974 · 247 km away
10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1981M5.2
Central
22 Jun 1981 · 232 km away
10 deaths$5 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.