M6.1 earthquake near Ovalle, Coquimbo Region

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 73 km WNW of Ovalle, Chile on 20 Apr 1955, 02:12 UTC at a depth of 25 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 Ovalle, about 74 km away in Coquimbo Region, Chile.