Chile earthquakes

M6.1 earthquake 54 km W of Illapel, Chile

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 54 km W of Illapel, Chile on Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 2:39 AM GMT-3 (05:39 UTC), 30 km (19 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.3 26 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

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Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.1 (mww), strong
Local time: Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 2:39 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2015-09-21 05:39:34 UTC
Depth: 30.0 km (18.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 31.576° S, 71.743° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 128
Strongest shaking: VI, strong 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: VI, strong shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 13.9% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 1.9 cm/s
Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

128 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate 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: 6.1 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 168°, dip 58°, rake 81°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 6°, dip 33°, rake 104°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 3.8 km horizontally, 1.7 km in depth
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 27°
Stations used: 594

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 200 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 200.

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20003mcj (also filed as gcmt20150921053933, gcmt20150921053934, iscgem611836705). Read Mon, Sep 21, 2026, 10:13 PM UTC.