Chile earthquakes

M4.5 earthquake 84 km WSW of Illapel, Chile

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 84 km WSW of Illapel, Chile on Thu, Oct 18, 2012, 1:37 AM GMT-3 (04:37 UTC), 29 km (18 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.7 Off the coast of Coquimbo, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Los Vilos forecastMore in Chile

Map

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

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2012-10-18 04:37:59 UTC
Depth
28.8 km (17.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter
31.827° S, 72.034° W
Region
Chile
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

What happened

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

no people dead or missing; no people injured; no buildings damaged or destroyed

From the USGS event page for usp000ju45. 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.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Station coverage gap
115°
Stations used
28

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.082 km WSW of Illapel, Chile · 5099 days ago · 43 km deep · 4 km away
  2. 4.575 km W of Illapel, Chile · 5098 days ago · 10 km deep · 11 km away
  3. 4.388 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile · 5098 days ago · 22 km deep · 48 km away
  4. 4.7Off the coast of Coquimbo, Chile · 5094 days ago · 44 km deep · 15 km away
  5. 4.268 km W of Illapel, Chile · 5082 days ago · 43 km deep · 18 km away
  6. 4.666 km WSW of Illapel, Chile · 5082 days ago · 36 km deep · 18 km away
  7. 4.544 km NNW of Valparaíso, Chile · 5071 days ago · 23 km deep · 95 km away · felt by 11

Before

  1. 5.061 km WSW of Illapel, Chile · 5102 days ago · 24 km deep · 23 km away · felt by 6
  2. 4.152 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile · 5110 days ago · 11 km deep · 59 km away
  3. 4.169 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile · 5111 days ago · 7 km deep · 37 km away
  4. 4.689 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile · 5112 days ago · 9 km deep · 35 km away · felt by 8

Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ju45. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:39 PM UTC.