Moderate mag. 3.9 earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, 29 km northwest of Esmeraldas, Ecuador, on Friday, 15 Jan 2021 11:27 pm (GMT -5) -
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Moderate magnitude 3.9 earthquake at 10 km depth
16 Jan 04:36 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 9 minutes.
Date & time: 16 Jan 2021 04:27:22 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Friday, 15 Jan 2021 11:27 pm (GMT -5)
Magnitude: 3.9
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 1.17°N / 79.81°W

Nearest volcano: Chachimbiro (187 km / 116 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
29 km (18 mi) NW of Esmeraldas (pop: 165,200) --> See nearby quakes!
66 km (41 mi) NNE of Muisne (pop: 13,400) --> See nearby quakes!
101 km (63 mi) NNW of Rosa Zarate (pop: 42,100) --> See nearby quakes!
109 km (68 mi) W of San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas (San Lorenzo) (pop: 20,200) --> See nearby quakes!
173 km (108 mi) NNW of Santo Domingo de los Colorados (pop: 200,400) --> See nearby quakes!
209 km (130 mi) WNW of Ibarra (pop: 133,000) --> See nearby quakes!
211 km (131 mi) NW of San Francisco de Quito (pop: 1,399,800) --> See nearby quakes!
236 km (147 mi) W of Tulcan (pop: 86,500) --> See nearby quakes!
258 km (160 mi) NNE of Portoviejo (pop: 170,300) --> See nearby quakes!
357 km (222 mi) NW of Puyo (Pastaza) (pop: 24,900) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Light Rain
24.9°C (77 F), humidity: 86%, wind: 6 m/s (12 kts) from WSW
Primary data source: EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Light Rain

Estimated released energy: 4.5 x 1010 joules (12.4 megawatt hours, equivalent to 10.7 tons of TNT) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
M 3.9 | 10 km | NEAR COAST OF ECUADOR | EMSC |
M 3.9 | 10 km | Near Coast of Ecuador, A 27.70km De Esmeraldas | IGEPN |
M 3.9 | 2 km | 40 Km Al Noreste De Esmeraldas, Ecuador | INETER |
User reports for this quake
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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There are no user reports for this quake yet. If you felt it Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 31 Jan 1906 15:36| 8.8 |20km / 12.4mi|115 years ago|55km / 34mi| Rio Verde, 32 km E of Esmeraldas, Provincia de Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- 16 Apr 2016 23:58| 7.8 |19.2km / 11.9mi|5 years ago|90km / 56mi| 28 km S of Muisne, Provincia de Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- 14 May 1942 02:13| 7.8 |20km / 12.4mi|79 years ago|134km / 83mi| 15 km SE of Pedernales, Provincia de Manabi, Ecuador
- 12 Dec 1979 07:59| 7.7 |24km / 15mi|41 years ago|69km / 43mi| North Pacific Ocean, 66 km W of Tumaco, Narino, Colombia
- 19 Jan 1958 14:07| 7.6 |28km / 17mi|63 years ago|40km / 25mi| 19 km E of Esmeraldas, Provincia de Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- 04 Aug 1998 18:59| 7.2 |33km / 21mi|23 years ago|207km / 128mi| San Vicente, 3.5 km E of Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador
- 06 Mar 1987 04:10| 7.2 |10km / 6.2mi|34 years ago|249km / 154mi| Canton Pimampiro, Provincia de Imbabura, 89 km NE of Quito, Ecuador
- 16 Jan 1956 23:37| 7.0 |20km / 12.4mi|65 years ago|216km / 134mi| 7.1 km N of Tosagua, Provincia de Manabi, Ecuador
- 01 Feb 1958 16:10| 6.9 |15km / 9.3mi|63 years ago|67km / 41mi| North Pacific Ocean, 67 km SW of Tumaco, Narino, Colombia
- 18 May 2016 16:46| 6.8 |29km / 18mi|5 years ago|82km / 51mi| 28 km NW of Rosa Zarate, Canton Quinindé, Provincia de Esmeraldas, Ecuador
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