M6.9 earthquake near Caldera, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 52 km W of Diego de Almagro, Chile on 2 Aug 1946, 19:18 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 73 km away in Atacama, Chile.