Chile earthquakes

M6.9 earthquake 1 km N of Coquimbo, Chile

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 1 km N of Coquimbo, Chile on Thu, Mar 13, 1975, 11:26 AM GMT-4 (15:26 UTC), 4 km (2 mi) below the surface.

Coquimbo forecastMore in Chile

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
6.9 (Ms, surface-wave), strong
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
1975-03-13 15:26:42 UTC
Depth
4.0 km (2.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter
29.941° S, 71.337° W
Region
Chile
Strongest shaking
VII, very strong shaking
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.ScaleComputed byNotes
6.9Ms, surface-waveUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterPreferred · Reviewed
6.81Mw, momentISC-GEM global catalogFinal · ±0.2

Deaths and damage

From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 6447), matched to this event by time and place.

Deaths
2
Injuries
25
Damage
Limited (under about $1 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA’s full record of this earthquakeThe tsunami it caused

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated
VII, very strong shaking
Peak ground acceleration
39.3% of gravity
Peak ground velocity
3.8 cm/s
Map
Automatic
USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter
Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Stations used
97

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.9 and up: 14 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.327 km NNW of La Serena, Chile · 18830 days ago · 33 km deep · 30 km away
  2. 5.215 km NW of La Serena, Chile · 18830 days ago · 51 km deep · 17 km away
  3. 5.128 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 18830 days ago · 26 km deep · 27 km away
  4. 5.12 km ENE of Coquimbo, Chile · 18830 days ago · 59 km deep · 2 km away
  5. 4.534 km NNW of La Serena, Chile · 18830 days ago · 33 km deep · 38 km away
  6. 4.57 km SSE of Coquimbo, Chile · 18829 days ago · 58 km deep · 8 km away
  7. 4.232 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 18829 days ago · 34 km deep · 32 km away
  8. 5.38 km NNW of Coquimbo, Chile · 18829 days ago · 47 km deep · 7 km away
  9. 4.617 km SSE of Coquimbo, Chile · 18828 days ago · 62 km deep · 19 km away
  10. 4.66 km NNE of La Serena, Chile · 18828 days ago · 61 km deep · 15 km away
  11. 5.162 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile · 18826 days ago · 19 km deep · 63 km away
  12. 4.234 km NNW of La Serena, Chile · 18822 days ago · 33 km deep · 35 km away
  13. 4.216 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 18799 days ago · 51 km deep · 16 km away
  14. 4.445 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 18778 days ago · 17 km deep · 45 km away

Before

  1. 4.664 km N of La Serena, Chile · 18832 days ago · 62 km deep · 70 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000a7a (also filed as atlas19750313152648, iscgem731206). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 1:34 PM UTC.