Chile earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 143 km ENE of Iquique, Chile

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 143 km ENE of Iquique, Chile on Sun, Dec 28, 2014, 3:14 PM GMT-3 (18:14 UTC), 112 km (70 mi) below the surface.

Pozo Almonte 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
4.8 (Mww, W-phase moment), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2014-12-28 18:14:23 UTC
Depth
112.1 km (69.7 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
19.839° S, 68.842° W
Region
Chile
Felt reports
3
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.ScaleComputed byNotes
4.8Mww, W-phase momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterPreferred · Reviewed
4.7Mwr, regional momentUSGS National Earthquake Information CenterMoment tensor · Reviewed

What happened

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

Felt (III) at Huara and (II) at Alto Hospicio, Camina, Cuya, Iquique and Pozo Almonte.

From the USGS event page for usc000tafh. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

3 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

Did You Feel It? map: shaking reported by the public
Shaking reported by the public, by area. Map: USGS Did You Feel It?

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting
Oblique normal
Moment magnitude
4.8 Mww
Nodal plane 1
Strike 304°, dip 72°, rake -136°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 198°, dip 49°, rake -24°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 5.7 km horizontally, 3.3 km in depth
Depth from
FROM_LOCATION
Station coverage gap
38°
Stations used
70

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usc000tafh. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 5:53 PM UTC.