M7.2 earthquake 68 km SSE of Arica, Chile
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 68 km SSE of Arica, Chile on Sat, Aug 8, 1987, 11:48 AM GMT-4 (15:48 UTC), 70 km (43 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (mw), major
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-08-08 15:48:56 UTC
- Depth
- 69.7 km (43.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.022° S, 69.991° W
- Region
- Chile
- Strongest shaking
- VII, very strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 5138), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 5
- Injuries
- 112
- Damage
- $1 million
- Houses destroyed
- 1,000
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.
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
- 30.6% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 2.9 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 4.2 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00037c3 (also filed as gcmtc080887c, gcmt19870808154857, atlas19870808154858, iscgem459313). Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 6:32 AM UTC.