M5.0 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck 91 km WSW of Vallenar, Chile on 26 Feb 2017, 08:59 UTC at a depth of 35 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 Vallenar, about 92 km away in Atacama, Chile.