M5.1 earthquake 84 km S of Arica, Chile
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 84 km S of Arica, Chile on Sat, Aug 15, 2020, 11:18 PM GMT-4 (03:18 UTC), 60 km (38 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-08-16 03:18:50 UTC
- Depth
- 60.4 km (37.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 19.241° S, 70.294° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 16
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.098 · 10 stations |
| 5.09 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.1 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
Did you feel it?
16 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Normal
- Moment magnitude
- 5.1 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 144°, dip 39°, rake -96°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 332°, dip 51°, rake -85°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.6 km horizontally, 1.4 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.10
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 44°
- Stations used
- 99
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.085 km NE of Iquique, Chile · 2233 days ago · 100 km deep · 83 km away · felt by 7
- 4.334 km NE of Iquique, Chile · 2226 days ago · 61 km deep · 94 km away · felt by 21
- 4.149 km E of Arica, Chile · 2202 days ago · 103 km deep · 96 km away · felt by 1
- 4.5Tarapaca, Chile · 2193 days ago · 106 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.3110 km SE of Arica, Chile · 2185 days ago · 124 km deep · 90 km away · felt by 1
- 3.892 km S of Arica, Chile · 2182 days ago · 57 km deep · 15 km away · felt by 2
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000bff9 (also filed as iscgem618727763). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 12:54 PM UTC.