M5.5 earthquake 15 km SW of Coquimbo, Chile

Monday, June 6, 2016, 13:16:02 UTC · 30.043°S, 71.464°W

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 15 km SW of Coquimbo, Chile on Monday, June 6, 2016, 13:16:02 UTC, at a depth of 28.3 km (shallow). USGS received 3 “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 M5.8 on June 5, 2016.

Magnitude: 5.5; Moderate · mww
Depth: 28 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 3; Max intensity III
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

3 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

108 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

28 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	38 km
Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile	III · Weak	1	387 km
Lampa, Metropolitana, Chile	III · Weak	1	363 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 16 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on June 6, 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 721 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 40 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,230 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1922M8.5
Atacama
11 Nov 1922 · 250 km away · intensity XI
700 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1965M7.3
Central
28 Mar 1965 · 263 km away
400 deaths$125 million damage
1971M7.8
Central
9 Jul 1971 · 274 km away · intensity IX
83 deaths$236 million damagetsunami
2015M8.3
Central
16 Sep 2015 · 171 km away · intensity IX
15 deaths$600 million damagetsunami
1943M8.2
Illapel
6 Apr 1943 · 94 km away
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1997M7.1
Pueblo Nuevo, Coquimbo, La Chimba
15 Oct 1997 · 102 km away
8 deaths$48 million damage

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

Nearby trackers