March 17, 1985 Earthquake: Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, Chile

Date

March 17, 1985

Time

10:41:38 UTC

Place

Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, Chile

Magnitude

6.6 (Ms)

Focal depth

33 km (21 mi)

Intensity

7 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

32.663° S, 71.551° W

Country

Chile

Deaths

1

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.

• August 17, 1906, South Central, ChileM8.2 · 4,000 deaths · $100 million · 56 km
• May 14, 1647, Santiago, ChileM8.5 · 1,000 deaths · 300 houses destroyed · 121 km
• March 28, 1965, Central, ChileM7.3 · 400 deaths · $125 million · 44 km
• March 3, 1985, Central Coast, San Antonio, Valparaiso, ChileM8 · 180 deaths · $1.5 billion · 54 km
• July 9, 1971, Central, ChileM7.8 · 83 deaths · $236.4 million · 38 km
• November 20, 1822, Valparaiso, Quillota, Concon, Aconcagua, ChileM8.5 · 72 deaths · 56 km
• September 16, 2015, Central, ChileM8.3 · 15 deaths · $600 million · 2,305 houses destroyed · 122 km
• October 15, 1997, Pueblo Nuevo, Coquimbo, LA Chimba, ChileM7.1 · 8 deaths · $48 million · 5,000 houses destroyed · 195 km
• September 4, 1958, Chile-ArgentinaM6.8 · 7 deaths · 183 km
• July 8, 1730, Valparaiso, ChileM9.1 · 5 deaths · 19 km
• April 17, 2012, Valparaiso, ChileM6.7 · 2 deaths · 18 km
• August 15, 1880, Illapel, ChileM7.7 · 2 deaths · 600 houses destroyed · 121 km
• April 9, 1985, Near Central Coast, Santiago-Valparaiso, ChileM7.5 · 2 deaths · 163 km
• August 2, 2017, Santiago, ChileM5.4 · 1 death · 106 km
• October 16, 1981, Off Central Coast, Las Cruces, ChileM7.5 · 1 death · 152 km

Significant earthquakes of 1985The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1985Recent 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 5060.