Chile earthquakes

M4.0 earthquake 52 km SSE of Arica, Chile

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 52 km SSE of Arica, Chile on Tue, May 16, 2017, 9:56 AM GMT-4 (13:56 UTC), 31 km (19 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.9 101 km NNE of Iquique, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Arica forecastMore in Chile

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.0 (mwr), light
Local time
UTC
2017-05-16 13:56:33 UTC
Depth
30.8 km (19.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter
18.941° S, 70.191° W
Region
Chile
Felt reports
1
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

Did You Feel It? map: shaking reported by the public
Shaking reported by the public, by area. Map: USGS Did You Feel It?

Fault motion and ground failure

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

Faulting
Strike-slip
Moment magnitude
4.0 Mwr
Nodal plane 1
Strike 120°, dip 73°, rake -160°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 24°, dip 71°, rake -18°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 4.0 km horizontally, 8.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.09
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
153°
Stations used
30

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.1113 km SE of Arica, Chile · 3421 days ago · 103 km deep · 78 km away
  2. 4.571 km N of Iquique, Chile · 3405 days ago · 53 km deep · 70 km away
  3. 4.359 km ESE of Arica, Chile · 3399 days ago · 126 km deep · 51 km away
  4. 4.3121 km SE of Arica, Chile · 3390 days ago · 113 km deep · 87 km away · felt by 1
  5. 4.380 km S of Arica, Chile · 3377 days ago · 61 km deep · 29 km away
  6. 4.9101 km NNE of Iquique, Chile · 3376 days ago · 90 km deep · 80 km away · felt by 2
  7. 4.144 km WSW of Arica, Chile · 3365 days ago · 38 km deep · 61 km away

Before

  1. 4.685 km SSE of Arica, Chile · 3452 days ago · 65 km deep · 34 km away · felt by 1
  2. 4.579 km SSE of Arica, Chile · 3453 days ago · 58 km deep · 27 km away · felt by 2

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10008sqd. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC.