M6.4 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 24 km N of Vallenar, Chile on 12 Feb 1940, 00:01 UTC at a depth of 35 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 Vallenar, about 25 km away in Atacama, Chile.