M5.6 earthquake 86 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 86 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile on Wed, Sep 1, 2021, 2:35 PM GMT-4 (18:35 UTC), 28 km (17 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2021-09-01 18:35:45 UTC
- Depth
- 28.0 km (17.4 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 27.732° S, 71.108° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 22
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.052 · 36 stations |
| 5.69 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.8 | Mi | NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center | First automatic solution · Reviewed · 27 stations |
| 5.7 | Mwb, body-wave moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 5.5 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Moment tensor · Reviewed |
| 5.6 | Mww, W-phase moment | USGS, automatic first solution | First automatic solution · Confirmed |
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
- 16.4% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 5.5 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
22 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was VI, strong 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 5.6 Mww
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 11°, dip 25°, rake 119°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 159°, dip 68°, rake 77°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 2.5 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.05
- Depth from
- From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
- Station coverage gap
- 97°
- Stations used
- 122
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.558 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 1824 days ago · 35 km deep · 32 km away
- 4.226 km WNW of Copiapó, Chile · 1819 days ago · 62 km deep · 69 km away · felt by 2
- 4.370 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 1816 days ago · 35 km deep · 21 km away
- 3.986 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 1816 days ago · 28 km deep · 9 km away
- 4.292 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile · 1811 days ago · 20 km deep · 11 km away · felt by 1
Before
Earthquakes todayChile earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us7000f6uy (also filed as usauto7000f6uy, at00qyrqbn, iscgem621013627). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC.