M6.4 earthquake 6 km N of Saposoa, Peru
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 6 km N of Saposoa, Peru on Mon, Mar 20, 1972, 2:33 AM GMT-5 (07:33 UTC), 52 km (32 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (mw), strong
- Local time
- UTC
- 1972-03-20 07:33:50 UTC
- Depth
- 51.9 km (32.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 6.873° S, 76.769° W
- Region
- Peru
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 4596), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 12
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- $20 million
- Houses destroyed
- 500
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 17.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.1 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.30
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.4 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayPeru earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem775498 (also filed as atlas19720320073349). Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 12:56 PM UTC.