M6.2 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 33 km NW of Vallenar, Chile on 1 Oct 1940, 10:42 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 Vallenar, about 34 km away in Atacama, Chile.