Chile earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 37 km SW of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 37 km SW of Ovalle, Chile on Sun, Sep 20, 2015, 12:02 AM GMT-3 (03:02 UTC), 45 km (28 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 22 km SW 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: 5.0 (mwr), moderate
Local time: Sun, Sep 20, 2015, 12:02 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2015-09-20 03:02:02 UTC
Depth: 45.5 km (28.2 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 30.847° S, 71.462° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 8
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

8 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

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: 5.0 Mwr
Nodal plane 1: Strike 326°, dip 24°, rake 62°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 177°, dip 69°, rake 102°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.8 km horizontally, 3.8 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.04
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 54°
Stations used: 177

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 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 us20003m30 (also filed as gcmt20150920030201, iscgem607776793). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:40 AM UTC.