Chile earthquakes

M4.8 earthquake 30 km NNE of Iquique, Chile

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 30 km NNE of Iquique, Chile on Mon, May 18, 2020, 7:15 AM GMT-4 (11:15 UTC), 49 km (30 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.9 3 km SE of Iquique, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Iquique 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
4.8 (Mwr, regional moment), light
Magnitude from
USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time
UTC
2020-05-18 11:15:39 UTC
Depth
48.7 km (30.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
19.947° S, 70.069° W
Region
Chile
Felt reports
53
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

53 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate 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
Reverse (thrust)
Moment magnitude
4.8 Mwr
Nodal plane 1
Strike 344°, dip 24°, rake 88°
Nodal plane 2
Strike 166°, dip 66°, rake 91°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 4.0 km horizontally, 4.1 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.06
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
96°
Stations used
114

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.8 and up: 12 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.755 km NNW of Iquique, Chile · 2323 days ago · 41 km deep · 37 km away · felt by 4
  2. 4.178 km NNE of Iquique, Chile · 2323 days ago · 74 km deep · 50 km away · felt by 4
  3. 3.224 km E of Iquique, Chile · 2322 days ago · 47 km deep · 30 km away · felt by 2
  4. 4.190 km NE of Iquique, Chile · 2322 days ago · 102 km deep · 67 km away · felt by 5
  5. 3.018 km SSW of Iquique, Chile · 2297 days ago · 35 km deep · 49 km away · felt by 3
  6. 3.445 km SE of Iquique, Chile · 2294 days ago · 85 km deep · 67 km away · felt by 3
  7. 3.525 km N of Iquique, Chile · 2291 days ago · 44 km deep · 6 km away · felt by 6
  8. 4.950 km W of Iquique, Chile · 2289 days ago · 18 km deep · 65 km away · felt by 17
  9. 4.146 km SW of Iquique, Chile · 2279 days ago · 35 km deep · 75 km away · felt by 12
  10. 4.013 km WNW of Iquique, Chile · 2270 days ago · 42 km deep · 32 km away · felt by 21
  11. 3.217 km WNW of Iquique, Chile · 2270 days ago · 42 km deep · 34 km away · felt by 2
  12. 5.93 km SE of Iquique, Chile · 2269 days ago · 74 km deep · 33 km away · felt by 170 · PAGER yellow

Before

  1. 4.7104 km E of Iquique, Chile · 2334 days ago · 104 km deep · 100 km away · felt by 21
  2. 5.199 km SSW of Arica, Chile · 2340 days ago · 64 km deep · 79 km away · felt by 13
  3. 3.831 km N of Iquique, Chile · 2351 days ago · 45 km deep · 7 km away · felt by 5
  4. 3.643 km SW of Iquique, Chile · 2351 days ago · 27 km deep · 72 km away · felt by 3
  5. 4.344 km SW of Iquique, Chile · 2351 days ago · 25 km deep · 74 km away · felt by 9

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70009jla. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 11:33 PM UTC.