M4.2 earthquake 80 km W of Illapel, Chile
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 80 km W of Illapel, Chile on Mon, Oct 18, 2021, 9:03 PM GMT-3 (00:03 UTC), 20 km (12 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.4 49 km SW of Illapel, Chile. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.2 (Mwr, regional moment), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2021-10-19 00:03:33 UTC
- Depth
- 19.9 km (12.3 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 31.652° S, 72.014° W
- Region
- Chile
- Felt reports
- 5
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
5 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
- Reverse (thrust)
- Moment magnitude
- 4.2 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 168°, dip 58°, rake 74°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 17°, dip 36°, rake 114°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.4 km horizontally, 1.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.04
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 149°
- Stations used
- 66
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.080 km WNW of Illapel, Chile · 1798 days ago · 12 km deep · 37 km away · felt by 4
- 4.449 km SW of Illapel, Chile · 1774 days ago · 44 km deep · 54 km away · felt by 1
- 4.065 km W of La Ligua, Chile · 1771 days ago · 21 km deep · 81 km away · felt by 2
Before
- 3.983 km W of Illapel, Chile · 1814 days ago · 16 km deep · 4 km away
- 4.483 km W of Illapel, Chile · 1814 days ago · 10 km deep · 7 km away · felt by 1
- 4.178 km W of Illapel, Chile · 1814 days ago · 18 km deep · 4 km away
- 4.389 km W of Illapel, Chile · 1815 days ago · 10 km deep · 10 km away · felt by 2
- 4.089 km W of Illapel, Chile · 1826 days ago · 18 km deep · 11 km away
- 4.689 km W of Illapel, Chile · 1826 days ago · 17 km deep · 10 km away · felt by 8
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000fvrs. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:59 AM UTC.