M5.8 earthquake 64 km N of La Serena, Chile
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 64 km N of La Serena, Chile on Wed, Oct 28, 2020, 11:53 AM GMT-3 (14:53 UTC), 50 km (31 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2020-10-28 14:53:11 UTC
- Depth
- 50.0 km (31.1 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 29.319° S, 71.240° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 43
- Strongest shaking
- VI, strong shaking
- PAGER alert
- Green
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.05 · 38 stations |
| 5.76 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.5 | Mi | NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 6 stations |
| 5.8 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 5.7 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VI, strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 13.5% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.8 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
43 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate 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
| Range | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 65% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 4% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
| Range, million USD | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 68% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 2% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Oblique reverse
- Moment magnitude
- 5.8 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 230°, dip 38°, rake 137°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 357°, dip 65°, rake 61°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.1 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 101°
- Stations used
- 120
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.8 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.164 km N of La Serena, Chile · 2165 days ago · 46 km deep · 2 km away
- 4.222 km W of Coquimbo, Chile · 2151 days ago · 38 km deep · 80 km away · felt by 2
- 4.837 km WNW of Vallenar, Chile · 2146 days ago · 43 km deep · 100 km away · felt by 3
- 3.913 km ENE of La Serena, Chile · 2144 days ago · 33 km deep · 63 km away · felt by 4
- 4.294 km NW of Coquimbo, Chile · 2141 days ago · 30 km deep · 73 km away · felt by 2
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000c6u9 (also filed as pt20302003, iscgem619509668). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 9:57 AM UTC.