M5.2 earthquake near Ovalle, Coquimbo Region

What happened

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 33 km WSW of Ovalle, Chile on 31 Mar 2017, 18:44 UTC at a depth of 42 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 Ovalle, about 33 km away in Coquimbo Region, Chile.