M6.1 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 73 km WNW of Copiap?, Chile on 17 Aug 1988, 11:34 UTC at a depth of 39 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 15 km away in Atacama, Chile.