Chile earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake 79 km NW of Illapel, Chile

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 79 km NW of Illapel, Chile on Mon, Oct 12, 2015, 12:15 AM GMT-3 (03:15 UTC), 21 km (13 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.8 39 km SW of Ovalle, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Illapel forecast More in Chile

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.6 (mww), moderate
Local time: Mon, Oct 12, 2015, 12:15 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2015-10-12 03:15:19 UTC
Depth: 21.0 km (13.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 31.185° S, 71.823° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 8
Strongest shaking: V, moderate shaking
PAGER alert: Green
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: V, moderate shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 9.6% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 1.1 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

8 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.

Estimated impact

The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.

Alert level: Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected

Fault motion and ground failure

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

Faulting: Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude: 5.6 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 170°, dip 60°, rake 82°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 6°, dip 30°, rake 104°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.1 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 45°
Stations used: 147

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 143 in the 60 days after this one and 56 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 143.

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10003mxa (also filed as gcmt20151012031519, iscgem610433906). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC.