Strong mag. 5.5 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 78 km southwest of Mollendo, Peru, on Saturday, 27 Feb 2021 9:16 pm (GMT -5) -
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Strong magnitude 5.5 earthquake at 10 km depth
28 Feb 02:21 UTC: First to report: GFZ after 5 minutes.
28 Feb 02:22: Epicenter location corrected by 4.8 km (3 mi) towards ENE.
28 Feb 08:16: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.5. Epicenter location corrected by 7.7 km (4.8 mi) towards NW.
28 Feb 02:22: Epicenter location corrected by 4.8 km (3 mi) towards ENE.
28 Feb 08:16: Magnitude recalculated from 5.2 to 5.5. Epicenter location corrected by 7.7 km (4.8 mi) towards NW.
Update Sun, 28 Feb 2021, 02:27
Significant magnitude 5.2 quake hits 79 km southwest of Mollendo, Peru in the evening5.2 quake 27 Feb 9:16 pm (GMT -5)
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake near Mollendo, Provincia de Islay, Arequipa, Peru, was reported only 11 minutes ago by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter in the evening on Saturday 27 February 2021 at 9:16 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 5.3 earthquake.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Islay (Matarani) (pop. 4,800) located 77 km from the epicenter, Mollendo (pop. 29,000) 79 km away, Cocachacra (pop. 8,800) 93 km away, Camana (pop. 16,400) 112 km away, and Ilo (pop. 53,500) 118 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 5.3 earthquake.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Islay (Matarani) (pop. 4,800) located 77 km from the epicenter, Mollendo (pop. 29,000) 79 km away, Cocachacra (pop. 8,800) 93 km away, Camana (pop. 16,400) 112 km away, and Ilo (pop. 53,500) 118 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Earthquake data:
Date & time: 28 Feb 2021 02:16:04 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Saturday, 27 Feb 2021 9:16 pm (GMT -5)
Magnitude: 5.5
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 17.55°S / 72.5°W

Nearest volcano: Cerro Nicholson (167 km / 104 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
75 km (46 mi) SW of Islay (Matarani) (pop: 4,820) --> See nearby quakes!
78 km (48 mi) SW of Mollendo (Provincia de Islay) (pop: 29,000) --> See nearby quakes!
86 km (53 mi) WSW of Punta de Bombon (Provincia de Islay) (pop: 6,340) --> See nearby quakes!
94 km (58 mi) SW of Cocachacra (Provincia de Islay) (pop: 8,800) --> See nearby quakes!
105 km (66 mi) SSE of Camana (Camaná) (pop: 16,400) --> See nearby quakes!
123 km (77 mi) W of Ilo (pop: 53,500) --> See nearby quakes!
136 km (85 mi) SSW of El Pedregal (pop: 20,100) --> See nearby quakes!
164 km (102 mi) SW of Arequipa (pop: 841,100) --> See nearby quakes!
171 km (106 mi) WSW of Moquegua (pop: 54,500) --> See nearby quakes!
782 km (486 mi) SE of Lima (pop: 7,737,000) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Overcast Clouds
22.9°C (73 F), humidity: 76%, wind: 3 m/s (6 kts) from SE
Primary data source: GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)Overcast Clouds

Estimated released energy: 1.1 x 1013 joules (3.12 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 2682 tons of TNT or 0.2 atomic bombs!) 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 |
5.5 | 10 km | Near Coast of Peru | GFZ |
5.5 | 10 km | NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU | EMSC |
5.5 | 9.7 km | 81 Km SW of Islay (Matarani), Peru | USGS |
5.6 | 7.1 km | 158 Km Al O De Ilo, Peru | GUG (U. Chile) |
5.7 | 10 km | Near Coast of Peru | GeoAu |
5.3 | 10 km | Near Coast of Peru | USP |
User reports for this quake (1)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.
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Send your own user report!
165.8 km NE of epicenter [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Moving things | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through our app)
Aftershocks
Please check again later while we are collecting more data.Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900
- Date / time UTC| Mag |Depth|Age|Distance| Details
- 23 Jun 2001 20:33| 8.4 |33km / 21mi|20 years ago|188km / 117mi| South Pacific Ocean, 107 km W of Camana, Arequipa, Peru
- 06 Aug 1913 22:14| 7.7 |25km / 16mi|108 years ago|185km / 115mi| South Pacific Ocean, 120 km W of Camana, Arequipa, Peru
- 07 Jul 2001 09:38| 7.6 |33km / 21mi|20 years ago|45km / 28mi| South Pacific Ocean, 79 km W of Ilo, Departamento de Moquegua, Peru
- 12 Apr 1988 23:19| 7.1 |33km / 21mi|33 years ago|45km / 28mi| South Pacific Ocean, 36 km SW of Mollendo, Provincia de Islay, Arequipa, Peru
- 15 Jan 1958 19:14| 7.0 |64km / 40mi|63 years ago|106km / 66mi| Provincia de Arequipa, 30 km S of El Pedregal, Peru
- 16 Feb 1979 10:08| 6.9 |53km / 33mi|42 years ago|130km / 81mi| 27 km N of Camana, Arequipa, Peru
- 03 Apr 1999 06:17| 6.8 |87km / 54mi|22 years ago|100km / 62mi| South Pacific Ocean, 6.6 km SE of Camana, Arequipa, Peru
- 06 Jan 1922 14:11| 6.8 |15km / 9.3mi|99 years ago|33km / 20mi| South Pacific Ocean, 111 km SW of Mollendo, Provincia de Islay, Arequipa, Peru
- 26 Jun 2001 04:18| 6.7 |24km / 15mi|20 years ago|93km / 58mi| South Pacific Ocean, 35 km W of Ilo, Departamento de Moquegua, Peru
- 19 Jul 1969 04:54| 6.4 |57km / 35mi|52 years ago|32km / 20mi| South Pacific Ocean, 46 km SW of Mollendo, Provincia de Islay, Arequipa, Peru
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