Light earthquake of magnitude 4.6 just reported 42 km southwest of Illapel, Chile

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake near Illapel, Provincia de Choapa, Coquimbo Region, Chile, was reported only 19 minutes ago by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a moderately shallow depth of 47.1 km beneath the epicenter in the morning on Sunday 17 January 2021 at 9:32 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.6 as well.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Illapel (pop. 22,800) located 42 km from the epicenter, and Salamanca (pop. 13,300) 57 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include La Ligua (pop. 24,900) located 78 km from the epicenter, and Hacienda La Calera (pop. 49,100) 113 km away.

VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: 17 Jan 2021 9:32 am (GMT -3) local time (17 Jan 2021 12:32 GMT)
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 47.1 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 31.81°S / 71.57°W (South Pacific Ocean, Chile)
Primary data source: USGS