M4.9 earthquake 85 km W of Ovalle, Chile

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 85 km W of Ovalle, Chile on Fri, Apr 16, 2021, 11:50 PM GMT-4 (03:50 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.8 31 km SW of Coquimbo, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Map

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

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 · ±0.075 · 17 stations
4.7	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed

11 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000e2aa. Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 3:14 AM UTC.