M5.9 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 110 km NW of Copiapó, Chile on 8 Jan 2022, 03:24 UTC at a depth of 13 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 Caldera, about 53 km away in Atacama, Chile.