M6.0 earthquake 88 km W of Constitución, Chile

Sunday, March 28, 2010, 21:38:28 UTC · 35.387°S, 73.385°W

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 88 km W of Constitución, Chile on Sunday, March 28, 2010, 21:38:28 UTC, at a depth of 29.9 km (shallow). USGS received 40 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on March 16, 2010.

Magnitude: 6.0; Strong · mwb
Depth: 30 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 40; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
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

40 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

30 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
Chillán, Bío Bío, Chile	IV · Light	7	179 km
Concepción, Bío Bío, Chile	III · Weak	7	165 km
Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile	II · Weak	7	332 km
Talca, Maule, Chile	II · Weak	4	159 km
Chiguayante, Bío Bío, Chile	IV · Light	2	173 km
Linares, Maule, Chile	IV · Light	2	172 km
Talcahuano, Bío Bío, Chile	III · Weak	2	154 km
Rengo, Libertador General Bernardo OʿHiggins, Chile	IV · Light	1	255 km
San Clemente, Maule, Chile	IV · Light	1	175 km
Angol, Araucanía, Chile	IV · Light	1	275 km
Constitución, Maule, Chile	III · Weak	1	92 km
Puente Alto, Metropolitana, Chile	III · Weak	1	326 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 PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 100 km

USGS lists 31 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on March 28, 2010. 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 539 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 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 35,282 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1939M8.3
Chillan
25 Jan 1939 · 140 km away · intensity X
30,000 deaths$920 million damagetsunami
1906M8.2
South Central
17 Aug 1906 · 294 km away · intensity XI
4,000 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
2010M8.8
Maule, Concepcion, Talcahuano
27 Feb 2010 · 93 km away · intensity IX
558 deaths$30 billion damagetsunami
1928M7.6
Talca, Chillan, Santiago, San Fernando
1 Dec 1928 · 133 km away · intensity IX
279 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1985M8.0
Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso
3 Mar 1985 · 294 km away · intensity VIII
180 deaths$1.5 billion damagetsunami
1822M8.5
Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua
20 Nov 1822 · 294 km away · intensity XI
72 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers