M5.8 earthquake 10 km W of Ovalle, Chile

Saturday, December 19, 2015, 19:25:05 UTC · 30.605°S, 71.306°W

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 10 km W of Ovalle, Chile on Saturday, December 19, 2015, 19:25:05 UTC, at a depth of 48.3 km (shallow). USGS received 38 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VI (strong). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on November 21, 2015.

Magnitude: 5.8; Moderate · mww
Depth: 48 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 38; Max intensity VI
Est. shaking: V; Moderate (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

8 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 16 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

125 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

48 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile	III · Weak	9	326 km
Ovalle, Coquimbo, Chile	VI · Strong	6	49 km
La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile	VI · Strong	6	92 km
Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina	III · Weak	4	348 km
Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile	IV · Light	3	86 km
Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile	IV · Light	1	276 km
Illapel, Coquimbo, Chile	III · Weak	1	124 km
Vicuña, Coquimbo, Chile	III · Weak	1	96 km
San Felipe, Valparaíso, Chile	III · Weak	1	248 km
Limache, Valparaíso, Chile	III · Weak	1	272 km
Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile	III · Weak	1	271 km
Los Andes, Valparaíso, Chile	II · Weak	1	260 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 13 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on January 8, 2016. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 757 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 55 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 15,490 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1944M6.9
San Juan Province
15 Jan 1944 · 286 km away · intensity IX
10,000 deaths$100 million damage
1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 274 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
1922M8.5
Atacama
11 Nov 1922 · 293 km away · intensity XI
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 200 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 284 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 211 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers