M5.0 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck 70 km WSW of Vallenar, Chile on 30 Mar 2022, 23:17 UTC at a depth of 22 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 70 km away in Atacama, Chile.