Chile earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 91 km NW of Copiapó, Chile

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 91 km NW of Copiapó, Chile on Thu, Oct 6, 1983, 11:01 AM GMT-4 (15:01 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.7 53 km WNW of Diego de Almagro, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.5 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Thu, Oct 6, 1983, 11:01 AM GMT-4
UTC: 1983-10-06 15:01:48 UTC
Depth: 19.7 km (12.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 26.724° S, 70.908° W
Region: Chile
Strongest shaking: V, moderate 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.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
5.5	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · 4 stations
5.18	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.2	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary

Shaking

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

Strongest estimated: V, moderate shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 9.3% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 1.0 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.

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001yua (also filed as gcmtb100683b, gcmt19831006150148, iscgem566153). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 4:11 PM UTC.