March 13, 1975 Earthquake: Coquimbo, LA Serena, Chile

Date

March 13, 1975

Time

15:26:42 UTC

Place

Coquimbo, LA Serena, Chile

Magnitude

6.9 (Ms)

Focal depth

4 km (2 mi)

Intensity

8 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

Yes: the tsunami it caused

Epicenter

29.900° S, 71.300° W

Country

Chile

Deaths

2

Injuries

25

Damage

Limited (under about $1 million)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

• September 16, 2015, Central, ChileM8.3 · 15 deaths · $600 million · 2,305 houses destroyed · 189 km
• April 6, 1943, Illapel, ChileM8.2 · 11 deaths · 116 km
• October 15, 1997, Pueblo Nuevo, Coquimbo, LA Chimba, ChileM7.1 · 8 deaths · $48 million · 5,000 houses destroyed · 115 km
• January 20, 2019, Coquimbo, LA Serena, ChileM6.7 · 2 deaths · $100 million · 17 km
• August 15, 1880, Illapel, ChileM7.7 · 2 deaths · 600 houses destroyed · 192 km
• April 19, 1955, ChileM7.1 · 1 death · 68 km
• December 1604, Chile0 km
• December 17, 1843, Chile0 km
• November 17, 1849, Coquimbo, ChileM7.5 · Deaths: few · 9 km
• December 1639, Chile15 km
• April 24, 1858, La Serena, ChileM6.5 · Deaths: few · 15 km
• August 9, 1869, Coquimbo, Chile15 km
• April 1, 2002, Coquimbo, LA Serena, Ovalle, Central, ChileM6.4 · 27 km
• June 14, 2019, Coquimbo, ChileM6.4 · 77 km
• November 11, 2015, La Serena, ChileM6.9 · 81 km

Significant earthquakes of 1975The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1975Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 6447.