Chile earthquakes

M6.3 earthquake 37 km W of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 37 km W of Ovalle, Chile on Tue, Feb 9, 2016, 9:33 PM GMT-3 (00:33 UTC), 29 km (18 mi) below the surface.

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: 6.3 (mww), strong
Local time: Tue, Feb 9, 2016, 9:33 PM GMT-3
UTC: 2016-02-10 00:33:05 UTC
Depth: 29.0 km (18.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 30.572° S, 71.584° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 71
Strongest shaking: VII, very strong 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: VII, very strong shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 24.2% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 2.7 cm/s
Map: Automatic

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

Did you feel it?

71 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was VII, very strong 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: 6.3 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 176°, dip 62°, rake 87°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 4°, dip 28°, rake 96°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.5 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 45°
Stations used: 185

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 56 in the 60 days after this one and 18 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us20004z5b (also filed as gcmt20160210003305, iscgem611838828, atlas20160210003305). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:09 PM UTC.