M4.4 earthquake 4 km SW of Palora, Ecuador
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 4 km SW of Palora, Ecuador on Mon, Oct 12, 1981, 11:33 PM GMT-5 (04:33 UTC), 161 km (100 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 29 km SE of Riobamba, Ecuador. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.4 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-10-13 04:33:07 UTC
- Depth
- 160.5 km (99.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 1.726° S, 77.993° W
- Region
- Ecuador
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.629 km SE of Riobamba, Ecuador · 16394 days ago · 129 km deep · 51 km away
- 4.630 km N of Macas, Ecuador · 16378 days ago · 231 km deep · 38 km away
- 4.739 km ENE of Puyo, Ecuador · 16361 days ago · 189 km deep · 52 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayEcuador earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001ge9. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC.