Moderate mag. 4.7 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 30 km southwest of Coquimbo, Provincia de Elqui, Coquimbo Region, Chile, on Monday, 18 Jan 2021 2:45 am (GMT -3) -
Quake Data | Interactive map | User Reports | Earlier quakes in same area | Quakes in Chile| Coquimbo Region | Atacama | Valparaiso | Santiago Metropolitan
Moderate magnitude 4.7 earthquake at 42 km depth
18 Jan 05:54 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 8 minutes.
18 Jan 06:02: Magnitude recalculated from 5.1 to 4.9. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 5.0 to 20.0 km (from 3.1 to 12.4 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 22 km (14 mi) towards W.
18 Jan 06:08: Now using data updates from GUG (U. Chile)
18 Jan 06:02: Magnitude recalculated from 5.1 to 4.9. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 5.0 to 20.0 km (from 3.1 to 12.4 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 22 km (14 mi) towards W.
18 Jan 06:08: Now using data updates from GUG (U. Chile)
Update Mon, 18 Jan 2021, 06:00
Significant magnitude 5.1 quake hits 27 km southwest of Coquimbo, Chile early morning5.1 quake 18 Jan 2:45 am (GMT -3)
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake near Coquimbo, Provincia de Elqui, Coquimbo Region, Chile, was reported only 14 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a very shallow depth of 5 km beneath the epicenter early morning on Monday 18 January 2021 at 2:45 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.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Coquimbo (pop. 161,300) located 27 km from the epicenter, and La Serena (pop. 154,500) 37 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Ovalle (pop. 77,100) located 67 km from the epicenter, Vicuña (pop. 13,500) 83 km away, and Monte Patria (pop. 13,900) 89 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.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Coquimbo (pop. 161,300) located 27 km from the epicenter, and La Serena (pop. 154,500) 37 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Ovalle (pop. 77,100) located 67 km from the epicenter, Vicuña (pop. 13,500) 83 km away, and Monte Patria (pop. 13,900) 89 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: 18 Jan 2021 05:45:57 UTC -
Local time at epicenter: Monday, 18 Jan 2021 2:45 am (GMT -3)
Magnitude: 4.7
Depth: 41.5 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 30.146°S / 71.564°W
(South Pacific Ocean, Chile)Nearby towns and cities:
30 km (19 mi) SW of Coquimbo (pop: 161,300) --> See nearby quakes!
41 km (25 mi) SW of La Serena (pop: 154,500) --> See nearby quakes!
62 km (38 mi) NW of Ovalle (pop: 77,100) --> See nearby quakes!
83 km (51 mi) W of Vicuña (pop: 13,500) --> See nearby quakes!
84 km (52 mi) NW of Monte Patria (pop: 13,900) --> See nearby quakes!
170 km (105 mi) NNW of Illapel (Choapa) (pop: 22,800) --> See nearby quakes!
191 km (119 mi) SSW of Vallenar (pop: 44,900) --> See nearby quakes!
322 km (200 mi) N of Valparaiso (pop: 282,400) --> See nearby quakes!
378 km (235 mi) NNW of Santiago de Chile (pop: 4,837,300) --> See nearby quakes!
397 km (246 mi) NNW of Puente Alto (pop: 510,400) --> See nearby quakes!
Weather at epicenter at time of quake:
Overcast Clouds
15°C (59 F), humidity: 88%, wind: 2 m/s (3 kts) from NW
Primary data source: GUG (U. Chile)Overcast Clouds
15°C (59 F), humidity: 88%, wind: 2 m/s (3 kts) from NWEstimated released energy: 7.1 x 1011 joules (197 megawatt hours, equivalent to 169 tons of TNT) More info
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
| Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
| M 4.7 | 42 km | 14 Km Al NO De Tongoy, Chile | GUG (U. Chile) |
| M 4.9 | 33 km | 32 Km SW of Coquimbo, Chile | USGS |
| M 4.9 | 33 km | OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE | EMSC |
| M 4.6 | 25 km | Near Coast of Central Chile | GFZ |
| M 4.4 | 106 km | Near Coast of Central Chile | USP |
User reports for this quake (2)
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
374.3 km SSE of epicenter [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
368.2 km SSE of epicenter [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s (reported through our app)
Earlier earthquakes in the same area
Click here to search our database for earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900!
