Chile earthquakes

M5.4 earthquake 36 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 36 km SSW of Ovalle, Chile on Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:18 AM GMT-3 (04:18 UTC), 35 km (22 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.8 39 km SW 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: 5.4 (mb, body-wave), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 1:18 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2015-09-17 04:18:31 UTC
Depth: 35.0 km (21.7 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 30.892° S, 71.386° W
Region: Chile
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.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
5.4	mb, body-wave	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.042 · 190 stations
5.5	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.2

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.6 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Depth from: Operator assigned
Station coverage gap: 93°
Stations used: 116

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.4 and up: at least 201 in the 60 days after this one and 71 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of at least 201.

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20003kgj (also filed as iscgem607777399). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 12:59 PM UTC.