M5.6 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 86 km WSW of Copiapó, Chile on 1 Sept 2021, 18:35 UTC at a depth of 28 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Caldera, about 79 km away in Atacama, Chile.