Chile earthquakes

M5.6 earthquake 96 km W of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 96 km W of Ovalle, Chile on Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 10:08 AM GMT-3 (13:08 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

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

Ovalle 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: Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 10:08 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2015-09-19 13:08:57 UTC
Depth: 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 30.526° S, 72.198° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 1
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.

Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak 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: 5.6 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 180°, dip 72°, rake 93°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 351°, dip 18°, rake 81°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 1.9 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Depth from: From moment tensor inversion
Station coverage gap: 85°
Stations used: 78

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 us20003lv1 (also filed as gcmt20150919130857, iscgem610637670). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:29 PM UTC.