Ecuador earthquakes

M7.8 earthquake 27 km SSE of Muisne, Ecuador

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 27 km SSE of Muisne, Ecuador on Sat, Apr 16, 2016, 6:58 PM GMT-5 (23:58 UTC), 21 km (13 mi) below the surface.

Rosa Zarate forecast More in Ecuador

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 7.8 (mww), major
Local time: Sat, Apr 16, 2016, 6:58 PM GMT-5
UTC: 2016-04-16 23:58:36 UTC
Depth: 20.6 km (12.8 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 0.382° N, 79.922° W
Region: Ecuador
Felt reports: 194
Strongest shaking: IX, violent shaking
PAGER alert: Orange
Tsunami flag: Yes: a large quake in an oceanic region
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Tsunami

The USGS flags a quake this large in an oceanic region. The flag does not mean a tsunami happened; the tsunami warning centers decide that, and their messages are below when they issued any.

Current tsunami warnings: tsunami.gov. Warnings in force in the US also appear on our alerts pages.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: IX, violent shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 74.0% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 4.2 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

194 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IX, violent shaking.

Estimated impact

The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.

Alert level: Orange: significant damage and deaths likely, a national response

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude: 7.8 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 183°, dip 75°, rake 83°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 26°, dip 16°, rake 113°
Landslide alert: Orange
Liquefaction alert: Red

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.7 km horizontally, 3.2 km in depth
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 15°
Stations used: 555

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 62 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 62.

Before

4.825 km N of Pedernales, EcuadorSat, Apr 16, 6:47 PM GMT-5 · 3810 days ago · 21 km deep · 17 km away

Earthquakes today Ecuador earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20005j32 (also filed as at00o5r3xd, pt16107050, gcmt20160416235837, iscgem608556966, atlas20160416235836). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 2:40 AM UTC.