A significant MAG-5.1 aftershock struck in the South Pacific Ocean 249 kilometer from Ica, Peru in the evening of Friday May 9th, 2025.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of Peru (6 mi offshore), 249 kilometer south-east of Ica. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 56 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | May 9, 2025 22:34 (Lima Time) - May 10, 2025 03:34 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 249 km SE of Ica, Peru. Coordinates 15°55'8"S 74°25'6"W. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 12 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.089 . |
| Depth: | 56 km (35 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Peru . Minas de Marcona in Ica, Peru is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 108 kilometer (67 mi) south-east of Minas de Marcona.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 108 km (67 mi) NW from epicenter |
Minas de Marcona Ica, Peru. |
| 133 km (83 mi) NNW from epicenter |
Nazca Ica, Peru. |
| 198 km (123 mi) ESE from epicenter |
Camaná Arequipa, Peru. |
| 243 km (151 mi) E from epicenter |
El Pedregal Arequipa, Peru. |
| 249 km (155 mi) NW from epicenter |
Ica Ica, Peru. |
| 275 km (171 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Andahuaylas Apurímac, Peru. |
| 284 km (176 mi) ESE from epicenter |
Mollendo Arequipa, Peru. |
This is likely an aftershock
Approximately 4 sec before this earthquake hit, a larger 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck 36 km (22 mi) southwest of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.1 earthquake as an aftershock.
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Shock | M 5.1 |
May 9, 2025 22:34 (Lima Time) | - |
| Aftershock This Earthquake |
M 5.1 |
4 sec later May 9, 2025 22:34 (Lima Time) | 36 km (22 mi) NE from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.3 |
1 day later May 11, 2025 01:25 (Lima Time) | 26 km (16 mi) NNE from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).Earthquakes like this happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. In total, 58 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 2 months.
Low tsunami risk
Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 56 km (35 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 20/05/25 03:38 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250510_0000030
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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