M5.2 earthquake 5 km SE of Arauco, Chile
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 5 km SE of Arauco, Chile on Wed, Dec 26, 2012, 10:17 AM GMT-3 (13:17 UTC), 29 km (18 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (Mwb, body-wave moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2012-12-26 13:17:57 UTC
- Depth
- 29.0 km (18.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 37.274° S, 73.267° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 29
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.38 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt (V) at Arauco and Tome; (IV) at Cauquenes, Cobquecura, Collipulli, Concepcion, La Laja, Los Sauces and Renaico; (III) at Angol, Constitucion, Ercilla, Linares, Longavi, Parral, Puren, Tirua, Victoria and Villa Alegre; (II) at Carahue, Curico, Lumaco, Maule and San Clemente. Also felt at Chillan and Temuco.
From the USGS event page for usp000jxe6. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
29 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Reverse (thrust)
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 6°, dip 17°, rake 95°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 180°, dip 73°, rake 88°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Station coverage gap
- 54°
- Stations used
- 329
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 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 usp000jxe6 (also filed as usc000eg5v, iscgem602058915). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 12:49 PM UTC.