Chile earthquakes

M5.5 earthquake 86 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 86 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile on Tue, Jan 27, 1987, 4:06 AM GMT-3 (07:06 UTC), 35 km (21 mi) below the surface.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.5 (Mw, moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, Jan 27, 1987, 4:06 AM GMT-3
UTC: 1987-01-27 07:06:51 UTC
Depth: 34.5 km (21.4 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 32.154° S, 72.082° W
Region: Chile
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	Mw, moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.51	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
5.5	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 12S, 29C Centroid Location: Origin Time 07:06:55.8 0.3 Lat 32.35S 0.05 Lon 72.65W 0.06 Dep 15.0 FIX Half-duration 2.1 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**17 Nm Mrr=1.32 0.06 Mtt=0.64 0.09 Mff=-1.97 0.08 Mrt=0.80 0.16 Mrf=-1.29 0.24 Mtf=0.02 0.06 Principal Axes: (T) Val=2.15 Plg=59 Azm=31 (N) Val=0.29 Plg=23 Azm=165 (P) Val=-2.44 Plg=20 Azm=264 Best Double Couple:Mo=2.3*10**17 NP1:Strike=28 Dip=32 Slip=138 NP2:Strike=156 Dip=69 Slip=65

From the USGS event page for usp00031yn. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

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: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00031yn (also filed as gcmtb012787a, gcmt19870127070651, iscgem477410). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 3:11 AM UTC.