Chile earthquakes

M5.7 earthquake 42 km N of La Serena, Chile

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 42 km N of La Serena, Chile on Sat, Dec 11, 2021, 11:54 AM GMT-3 (14:54 UTC), 45 km (28 mi) below the surface.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.7 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sat, Dec 11, 2021, 11:54 AM GMT-3
UTC: 2021-12-11 14:54:19 UTC
Depth: 45.0 km (28.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 29.527° S, 71.299° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 47
Strongest shaking: V, moderate 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
5.7	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.058 · 29 stations
5.67	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.1	ML, local (Richter)	NOAA National Tsunami Warning Center	First automatic solution · Reviewed · 17 stations
5.7	Mwb, body-wave moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
5.7	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS, automatic first solution	First automatic solution · Preliminary

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Landslides occurred in the La Higuera area.

From the USGS event page for us6000gbfe. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: V, moderate shaking
Peak ground acceleration: 8.7% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 1.2 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

47 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

Deaths: estimated chance of each range
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%

Economic losses: estimated chance of each range
Range, million USD	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%

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: 5.7 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 167°, dip 44°, rake 72°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 12°, dip 49°, rake 107°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 4.2 km horizontally, 1.9 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.06
Depth from: From modeling of broad-band P waveforms
Station coverage gap: 33°
Stations used: 113

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.7 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

4.449 km WNW of Coquimbo, ChileSun, Dec 5, 5:01 AM GMT-3 · 1765 days ago · 46 km deep · 55 km away

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000gbfe (also filed as usauto6000gbfe, at00r3yhei, iscgem621627511). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 10:55 PM UTC.