M6.0 earthquake 105 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile

Monday, February 22, 2016, 06:36:59 UTC · 30.424°S, 72.297°W

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 105 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile on Monday, February 22, 2016, 06:36:59 UTC, at a depth of 12.0 km (shallow). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on February 10, 2016.

Magnitude: 6.0; Strong · mww
Depth: 12 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 6; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: IV; Light (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

15 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 32 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

30 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Nazca and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

12 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
La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile	III · Weak	1	116 km
Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile	II · Weak	1	107 km
Puente Alto, Metropolitana, Chile	II · Weak	1	389 km
Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile	II · Weak	1	371 km
Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile	II · Weak	1	296 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 100 km

USGS lists 20 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on March 12, 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 654 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 44 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,602 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 288 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 243 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 253 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 288 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
2015M8.3
Central
16 Sep 2015 · 141 km away · intensity IX
15 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 46 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers