M6.2 earthquake near Ovalle, Coquimbo Region

What happened

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 16 km S of Ovalle, Chile on 3 Nov 1997, 19:17 UTC at a depth of 45 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 16 km away in Coquimbo Region, Chile.