M6.3 earthquake 37 km W of Ovalle, Chile

Wednesday, February 10, 2016, 00:33:05 UTC · 30.572°S, 71.584°W

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 37 km W of Ovalle, Chile on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, 00:33:05 UTC, at a depth of 29.0 km (shallow). USGS received 71 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VII (very strong). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on November 11, 2015.

Magnitude: 6.3; Strong · mww
Depth: 29 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 71; Max intensity VII
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

43 kilotons of TNT

That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

98 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

29 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	26	333 km
La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile	IV · Light	10	86 km
Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile	II · Weak	6	271 km
Ovalle, Coquimbo, Chile	VII · Very strong	4	46 km
Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile	V · Moderate	4	77 km
Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile	IV · Light	3	275 km
Illapel, Coquimbo, Chile	V · Moderate	2	127 km
La Ligua, Valparaíso, Chile	IV · Light	2	213 km
Copiapó, Atacama, Chile	II · Weak	2	377 km
Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina	IV · Light	1	741 km
San Juan, San Juan, Argentina	IV · Light	1	311 km
Peñaflor, Metropolitana, Chile	III · Weak	1	344 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 32 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on February 22, 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 750 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 52 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,785 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 273 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 206 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 285 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 217 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 273 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
2015M8.3
Central
16 Sep 2015 · 112 km away · intensity IX
15 deaths$600 million damagetsunami

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

Nearby trackers