M6.5 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 73 km WNW of Copiapó, Chile on 30 Apr 2006, 21:40 UTC at a depth of 12 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 Caldera, about 28 km away in Atacama, Chile.