M6.3 earthquake near Copiapó, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 79 km SW of Copiapó, Chile on 30 Jan 1959, 16:15 UTC at a depth of 45 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 Copiapó, about 79 km away in Atacama, Chile.