January 30, 2012 Earthquake: Ica, Peru
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Ica, Peru on January 30, 2012 at 05:11:00 UTC, 43 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- January 30, 2012
- Time
- 05:11:00 UTC
- Place
- Ica, Peru
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 43 km (27 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 14.168° S, 75.635° W
- Country
- Peru
The toll
- Injuries
- 119
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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 the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Felt (VI) at Ica; (IV) at Lima, Mala and San Vicente de Canete; (III) at Pisco; (II) at Arequipa. Also felt at
Ayacucho, Barranca, Chilca, Cusco, Huancayo, Huaral,
Imperial and Ricardo Palma. Felt at Arica, Chile. (reference #1053)
An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck Peru's southern coast at about midnight local time, leaving at least 119 people injured. The temblor knocked out power temporarily and damaged buildings near the epicenter in Ica, about 270 kilometers (168 miles) south of capital Lima, Peru's civil defense authority said in an e-mailed statement. The quake shook buildings in Lima and was felt in cities in the southern highlands and along Peru's northern coast. In Ica, people remained outside their homes for the rest of the night fearing aftershocks, Radio Programas reported. Residents in the port of Pisco concerned the quake might trigger a tsunami fled to higher ground. No tsunami alert has been issued, said Soledad Arevalo, a civil defense authority spokeswoman, in a phone interview from Lima. (reference #9731)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 20, 1687, Lima, Peru
- August 15, 2007, Ica, Pisco, Lima, Peru
- May 12, 1664, Ica, Pisco, Peru
- December 18, 1594, Ica, Peru
- March 30, 1813, Ica, Peru
- August 24, 1942, Ica, Nazca, Peru
- November 12, 1996, Chincha Alta, Acari, Nazca, Marcona, Peru
- May 7, 1647, Peru
- June 22, 1981, Central, Peru
- April 18, 1981, Ayacucho, Peru
- November 12, 1980, S Central, Peru
- December 24, 1959, Ayacucho,pomabamba,moyobamba,huahuapuquio, Peru
- December 10, 1950, Ica,chimbote,huaraz,cajamarca,cuzco,moquegua, Peru
- May 28, 1948, Canete, Peru
- March 28, 1982, Coast, Lunahuana, Lima, Huancayo, Peru
More
Significant earthquakes of 2012The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2012Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 9867.