M7.2 earthquake 29 km SSE of Pimampiro, Ecuador
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 29 km SSE of Pimampiro, Ecuador on Thu, Mar 5, 1987, 11:10 PM GMT-5 (04:10 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (mw), major
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-03-06 04:10:41 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 0.151° N, 77.821° W
- Region
- Ecuador
- Strongest shaking
- VII, very strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 5130), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 5,000
- Damage
- $1.5 billion
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
- VII, very strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 35.1% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.7 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Landslide alert
- Orange
- Liquefaction alert
- Yellow
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 4.2 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.567 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14454 days ago · 10 km deep · 48 km away
- 5.258 km E of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14454 days ago · 10 km deep · 31 km away
- 6.024 km E of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14454 days ago · 9 km deep · 19 km away
- 4.968 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14453 days ago · 12 km deep · 44 km away
- 4.741 km W of Nueva Loja, Ecuador · 14453 days ago · 10 km deep · 62 km away
- 4.355 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14452 days ago · 10 km deep · 42 km away
- 4.770 km WNW of Puerto Francisco de Orellana, Ecuador · 14452 days ago · 10 km deep · 45 km away
- 4.833 km SE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14450 days ago · 10 km deep · 40 km away
- 4.740 km SSE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14450 days ago · 10 km deep · 49 km away
- 4.757 km SE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14449 days ago · 10 km deep · 48 km away
- 4.343 km ESE of Cayambe, Ecuador · 14444 days ago · 10 km deep · 28 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayEcuador earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000330w (also filed as gcmtc030687b, gcmt19870306041041, atlas19870306041041, iscgem471340). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 7:52 PM UTC.