Chile earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake 109 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 109 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile on Fri, Sep 18, 2015, 5:18 AM GMT-3 (08:18 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.2 92 km NW of Valparaíso, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Los Vilos 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: Fri, Sep 18, 2015, 5:18 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2015-09-18 08:18:17 UTC
Depth: 6.0 km (3.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 32.229° S, 72.368° W
Region: Chile
Strongest shaking: IV, light 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: IV, light shaking
Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

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 76°, rake 89°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 352°, dip 13°, rake 92°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.3 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 71°
Stations used: 116

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 179 in the 60 days after this one and 20 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 179.

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20003l55 (also filed as gcmt20150918081818, gcmt20150918081817, iscgem610637591). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:49 PM UTC.