M9.5 earthquake near Cañete, Biobio

What happened

A magnitude 9.5 earthquake struck 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake) on 22 May 1960, 19:11 UTC at a depth of 25 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Great. Can cause severe damage across hundreds of kilometres and may trigger tsunamis. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Cañete, about 38 km away in Biobio, Chile.