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)
Update Mon, 18 Jan 2021, 06:00
Significant magnitude 5.1 quake hits 27 km southwest of Coquimbo, Chile early morning

5.1 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
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