Information on the earthquake: moderate mag. Earthquake 4.6 – South Pacific Ocean, 82 km west of Tocopilla, Antofagasta, Chile, on Monday, September 20, 2021 at 2:12 am (GMT -5)
Moderate magnitude earthquake 4.6 to 10 km deep
20 Sep 07:20 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 8 minutes.
Sep 20, 7:39 AM: Magnitude recalculated from 4.8 to 4.5. Depth of hypocenter recalculated from 5.0 to 10.0 km (3.1 to 6.2 mi). Epicenter location corrected 5.6 km (3.5 mi) towards ESE.
20 Sep 08:26: Magnitude recalculated from 4.5 to 4.6. Epicenter location corrected 1 km (0.6 mi) towards E.
Updated Mon Sep 20, 2021, 07:24 AM
Moderate 4.8 earthquake strikes near Tocopilla, Provincia de Tocopilla, Antofagasta, Chile
Earthquake 4.8 September 20 02:12 (GMT -5)
According to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), the earthquake struck on Monday, September 20, 2021 at 2:12 a.m. local time at a very shallow depth of 5 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deep ones because they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter and depth of the quake could be revised in the coming hours or minutes, as seismologists review the data and refine their calculations, or when other agencies release their report.
Based on preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused significant damage, but was likely felt by many as a slight vibration in the epicenter area.
Weak tremors could be felt in Tocopilla (population 24,500) located 87 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update the magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant earthquake news becomes available. If you are in the region, please share your experience with us through our reporting mechanism, online or through our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone in the world who is interested in learning more about this earthquake.
If you were or still are in this area during the earthquake help others with your comments and report it here.
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Earthquake data
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Date and hour : 20 Sep 2021 07:12:11 UTC –
Local time at epicenter: Monday September 20, 2021 02:12 (GMT -5)
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 10.0 km
Latitude / longitude of epicenter: 22.3 ° S / 70.96 ° W↗ 
(South Pacific Ocean, Chile)
Antipode: 22.3 ° N / 109.04 ° E↗
Nearby towns and villages:
82 km (51 mi) WW of Tocopilla (pop: 24,500) -> Observe the earthquakes nearby!
161 km (100 mi) NNW of Antofagasta (pop: 309.800) -> See nearby earthquakes!
210 km (131 mi) west of Calama (pop: 143,100) -> See nearby earthquakes!
247 km (153 mi) SSO of Iquique (pop: 227,500) -> Observe the earthquakes nearby!
291 km (181 mi) to WNW of San Pedro de Atacama (pop: 2,000) -> See earthquakes nearby!
349 km (217 mi) north of Taltal (Antofagasta) (pop: 10,000) -> Watch the earthquakes nearby!
410 km (255 mi) to OSO of San Cristóbal de Lipez (Bolivia) (pop: 75) -> See nearby earthquakes!
Clouds covered
14.1 ° C (57 F), humidity: 79%, wind: 6 m / s (12 kts) from SMain data source: EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Center)
Estimated energy released: 5×1011 joules (139 megawatt hours, equivalent to 120 tonnes of TNT) More info
If you did NOT feel the earthquake although you are in the area, please report it! Your contribution is valuable to earthquake science, seismic risk analysis and mitigation efforts. You can use your device’s location or the map to show where you were during the earthquake. Thank you!
Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
Info: The more agencies report the same earthquake and publish similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It normally takes up to a few hours for the seismic parameters to be calculated with near optimum accuracy.
| Mag. | Depth | Site | Source |
| 4.6 | 10 km | OFF ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE | EMSC |
| 4.5 | 10 km | Near the coast of northern Chile | GFZ |
| 4.3 | 17 km | 89 Km WSW from Tocopilla, Chile | USGS |
Previous earthquakes in the same region
Click here to search our database for previous earthquakes in the same area since 1900!
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