M4.2 earthquake 30 km SW of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 30 km SW of Ovalle, Chile on Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 1:44 AM GMT-3 (04:44 UTC), 51 km (32 mi) below the surface.

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

Map

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

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (IV) at Andacollo, Ovalle and Rio Hurtado; (III) at Canela, Combarbala, Coquimbo, Punitaqui and Vallenar; (II) at Freirina.

From the USGS event page for us20003lq9. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

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

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: at least 200 in the 60 days after this one and 189 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of at least 200.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20003lq9. Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 10:49 AM UTC.