M6.6 earthquake near Ovalle, Coquimbo Region

What happened

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 39 km NW of Ovalle, Chile on 9 Jun 1956, 10:08 UTC at a depth of 24 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Ovalle, about 40 km away in Coquimbo Region, Chile.