M7.2 earthquake near Carahue, Araucania

What happened

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 42 km NNW of Carahue, Chile on 2 Jan 2011, 20:20 UTC at a depth of 24 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Major. Can cause serious damage over large areas. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Carahue, about 42 km away in Araucania, Chile.