M6.3 earthquake near Vallenar, Atacama

What happened

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 69 km N of Vallenar, Chile on 26 Mar 2010, 14:52 UTC at a depth of 42 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 69 km away in Atacama, Chile.