M6.5 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 50 km NNW of Vallenar, Chile on 15 Aug 1987, 18:04 UTC at a depth of 37 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 Vallenar, about 50 km away in Atacama, Chile.