Categorized | Earthquake, News

6.3M quake shakes Peru, no tsunami advisory issued Sunday (Jan 29)

Magnitude
6.3
Date-Time
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 05:11:00 UTC
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 12:11:00 AM at epicenter
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 7:11:00 HST
Location
14.179°S, 75.644°W
Depth
39.2 km (24.4 miles)
Region
NEAR THE COAST OF CENTRAL PERU
Distances
15 km (9 miles) SE of Ica, Peru
96 km (59 miles) SSE of Chincha Alta, Peru
172 km (106 miles) WNW of Puquio, Peru
280 km (173 miles) SSE of LIMA, Peru

USGS: How large does an earthquake have to be to cause a tsunami?

Magnitudes below 6.5
Earthquakes of this magnitude are very unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Magnitudes between 6.5 and 7.5
Earthquakes of this size do not usually produce destructive tsunamis. However, small sea level changes may be observed in the vicinity of the epicenter. Tsunamis capable of producing damage or casualties are rare in this magnitude range but have occurred due to secondary effects such as landslides or submarine slumps.

Magnitudes between 7.6 and 7.8
Earthquakes of this size may produce destructive tsunamis especially near the epicenter; at greater distances small sea level changes may be observed. Tsunamis capable of producing damage at great distances are rare in the magnitude range.

Magnitude 7.9 and greater
Destructive local tsunamis are possible near the epicenter, and significant sea level changes and damage may occur in a broader region.

Note that with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the probability of an aftershock with a magnitude exceeding 7.5 is not negligible. To date, the largest aftershock recorded has been magnitude 7.1 that did not produce a damaging tsunami.

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