Chile earthquakes

M6.2 earthquake 79 km W of La Ligua, Chile

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 79 km W of La Ligua, Chile on Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 9:52 AM GMT-3 (12:52 UTC), 18 km (11 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.6 22 km WSW of Illapel, 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: 6.2 (mww), strong
Local time: Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 9:52 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2015-09-19 12:52:20 UTC
Depth: 18.0 km (11.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 32.334° S, 72.063° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 49
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
Peak ground acceleration: 5.2% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 0.9 cm/s
Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

49 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: 6.2 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 178°, dip 68°, rake 88°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 4°, dip 22°, rake 96°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.9 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 60°
Stations used: 136

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 145 in the 60 days after this one and 54 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 145.

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20003luw (also filed as gcmt20150919125219, gcmt20150919125220, iscgem611836693). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 2:22 AM UTC.