Reviewed by USGSPeru15y ago
M4.6 earthquake 5 km WNW of Pisco, Peru
Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 14:02:13 UTC · 13.696°S, 76.252°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 5 km WNW of Pisco, Peru on Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 14:02:13 UTC, at a depth of 48.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on November 7, 2011.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 48 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
128 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
48 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 308 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 · 200 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.041 km SW of San Vicente de Cañete, PeruAugust 15, 2007 · 51 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.760 km SW of Changuillo, PeruNovember 12, 1996 · 157 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.677 km WSW of Callao, PeruOctober 3, 1974 · 231 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.287 km SW of Callao, PeruNovember 9, 1974 · 213 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.121 km SSE of Nazca, PeruJanuary 15, 1960 · 209 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.939 km SW of Santiago, PeruOctober 28, 2011 · 88 km S of this epicenter
- 6.913 km SSW of San Juan, PeruOctober 3, 1916 · 245 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 45 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,916 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1746M8.0
Lima, Callao
29 Oct 1746 · 215 km away · intensity XI
5,941 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 2007M8.0
Ica, Pisco, Lima
15 Aug 2007 · 51 km away · intensity VIII
596 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
- 1969M6.6
Huaytapallana, Lampa, Chilifruta
1 Oct 1969 · 244 km away · intensity XI
130 deaths$5 million damage
- 1974M8.1
Lima, Callao
3 Oct 1974 · 230 km away · intensity IX
78 deaths$10 million damagetsunami
- 1813
Ica
30 Mar 1813 · 102 km away · intensity VII
32 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1942M8.2
Ica, Nazca
24 Aug 1942 · 148 km away · intensity IX
30 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.