M6.4 earthquake near Los Vilos, Coquimbo Region

What happened

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 49 km WNW of La Ligua, Chile on 11 Jul 1971, 09:51 UTC at a depth of 40 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 Los Vilos, about 48 km away in Coquimbo Region, Chile.