M5.5 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 78 km W of Vallenar, Chile on 14 Dec 2021, 04:23 UTC at a depth of 18 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 Vallenar, about 79 km away in Atacama, Chile.