M5.5 earthquake 11 km SW of Tapay, Peru
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 11 km SW of Tapay, Peru on Sun, Aug 14, 2016, 9:59 PM GMT-5 (02:59 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Mwb, body-wave moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2016-08-15 02:59:00 UTC
- Depth
- 20.0 km (12.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 15.654° S, 72.009° W
- Region
- Peru
- Felt reports
- 22
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- PAGER alert
- Green
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.058 · 29 stations |
| 5.53 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 10191), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 9
- Injuries
- 68
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 605
- Houses damaged
- 671
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.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Three people killed at Achoma and six at Yanque. At least 68 people injured; 605 houses destroyed, 648 houses, 8 churches and 15 schools damaged; several roads damaged from landslides in Caylloma. Felt (VI) at Achoma, Cabanaconde, Coporaque, Chivay, Ichupampa, Maca, Madrigal, Pinchollo and Yanque; (V) at Yuta; (IV) at Chachas and Huambo; (III) at Arequipa and Yura. Also felt at Corrales and Puno.
From the USGS event page for us10006du3. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
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
- 19.0% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.3 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
22 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was VII, very strong 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
- Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Strike-slip
- Moment magnitude
- 5.5 Mwb
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 125°, dip 89°, rake -2°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 215°, dip 88°, rake -179°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 7.7 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.06
- Depth from
- From moment tensor inversion
- Station coverage gap
- 95°
- Stations used
- 139
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.629 km W of El Pedregal, Peru · 3686 days ago · 86 km deep · 94 km away · felt by 1
- 4.813 km W of Santa Rita de Siguas, Peru · 3683 days ago · 79 km deep · 95 km away · felt by 2
- 4.1southern Peru · 3675 days ago · 11 km deep · 36 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayPeru earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10006du3 (also filed as gcmt20160815025859, iscgem609351116, atlas20160815025900). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 2:22 AM UTC.