Ecuador earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 67 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 67 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador on Thu, Mar 5, 1987, 11:17 PM GMT-5 (04:17 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.0 24 km E of Cayambe, Ecuador. This one was a foreshock.

Cayambe forecastMore in Ecuador

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
5.5 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1987-03-06 04:17:30 UTC
Depth
10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter
0.220° S, 77.600° W
Region
Ecuador
Strongest shaking
VI, strong shaking
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

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
25.6% of gravity
Peak ground velocity
2.7 cm/s
Map
Automatic
USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter
Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from
OPERATOR_ASSIGNED

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.258 km E of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14445 days ago · 10 km deep · 19 km away
  2. 6.024 km E of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14445 days ago · 9 km deep · 45 km away
  3. 4.968 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14445 days ago · 12 km deep · 9 km away
  4. 4.741 km W of Nueva Loja, Ecuador · 14445 days ago · 10 km deep · 54 km away
  5. 4.355 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14444 days ago · 10 km deep · 13 km away
  6. 4.770 km WNW of Puerto Francisco de Orellana, Ecuador · 14443 days ago · 10 km deep · 12 km away
  7. 4.833 km SE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14441 days ago · 10 km deep · 39 km away
  8. 4.740 km SSE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14441 days ago · 10 km deep · 39 km away
  9. 4.757 km SE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14441 days ago · 10 km deep · 16 km away
  10. 4.343 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14435 days ago · 10 km deep · 24 km away
  11. 3.744 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14427 days ago · 10 km deep · 26 km away

Before

  1. 7.229 km SSE of Pimampiro, Ecuador · 14445 days ago · 10 km deep · 48 km away
  2. 6.449 km SE of Pimampiro, Ecuador · 14445 days ago · 14 km deep · 30 km away

Earthquakes todayEcuador earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000330x. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:36 AM UTC.