Chile earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 72 km NE of Calama, Chile

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 72 km NE of Calama, Chile on Tue, May 21, 2024, 4:21 AM GMT-4 (08:21 UTC), 106 km (66 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.1 45 km WSW of Ollagüe, Chile. This one was a foreshock.

Calama forecast More in Chile

Map

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

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.0 (Mww, W-phase moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Tue, May 21, 2024, 4:21 AM GMT-4
UTC: 2024-05-21 08:21:10 UTC
Depth: 106.4 km (66.1 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter: 21.944° S, 68.479° W
Region: Chile
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
5.0	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.065 · 23 stations
5.1	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Moment tensor · Reviewed
5.2	Mww, W-phase moment	USGS, automatic first solution	First automatic solution · Preliminary

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Fault motion and ground failure

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

Faulting: Normal
Moment magnitude: 5.0 Mww
Nodal plane 1: Strike 138°, dip 28°, rake -111°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 342°, dip 64°, rake -79°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 5.4 km horizontally, 1.0 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.07
Depth from: From location
Station coverage gap: 32°
Stations used: 113

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 23 in the 60 days after this one and 8 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us6000n003 (also filed as usauto6000n003). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:40 AM UTC.