M6.3 earthquake near Ovalle, Coquimbo Region

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 64 km W of Ovalle, Chile on 27 Jul 1997, 05:21 UTC at a depth of 33 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 64 km away in Coquimbo Region, Chile.