M4.9 earthquake 32 km NNW of La Serena, Chile
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 32 km NNW of La Serena, Chile on Wed, May 6, 2020, 2:36 AM GMT-4 (06:36 UTC), 71 km (44 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (Mww, W-phase moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-05-06 06:36:53 UTC
- Depth
- 70.7 km (43.9 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 29.632° S, 71.379° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 15
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.098 · 10 stations |
| 4.9 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
Did you feel it?
15 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate 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
- 4.9 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 46°, dip 68°, rake -110°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 270°, dip 29°, rake -49°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.5 km horizontally, 3.1 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.10
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 33°
- Stations used
- 144
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.581 km SW of Vallenar, Chile · 2319 days ago · 63 km deep · 54 km away
- 4.046 km WNW of Ovalle, Chile · 2313 days ago · 23 km deep · 94 km away · felt by 1
- 4.424 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2303 days ago · 34 km deep · 49 km away · felt by 2
- 3.983 km WSW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2291 days ago · 11 km deep · 97 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us70009awg. Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 9:41 AM UTC.