Under land 27 kilometer from La Serena in Chile, a significant MAG-5.0 earthquake occurred in the night of Saturday November 2nd, 2024. Another country near the epicenter is Argentina.
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Earthquake Summary
The earthquake struck on land in Chile, 27 kilometer (17 mi) north of La Serena in Coquimbo Region. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 68 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Nov 2, 2024 04:42 (Santiago Time) - Nov 2, 2024 07:42 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 27 km north of La Serena, Coquimbo Region, Chile. Coordinates 29°39'38"S 71°14'33"W. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.0 Detected by 323 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.031 . |
| Depth: | 68 km (42 mi) A quite shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (6 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Chile and Argentina are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.
Located 27 kilometer (17 mi) north of the epicenter of this earthquake, La Serena (Coquimbo Region, Chile) is the nearest significant population center.
Major cities near this earthquake: La Serena is located 27 km to the south. Coquimbo is located 34 km to the south-southwest. Copiapó is located 270 km to the north-northeast.
A complete list of nearby places is included below.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 27 km (17 mi) S from epicenter |
La Serena Coquimbo Region, Chile. |
| 34 km (21 mi) SSW from epicenter |
Coquimbo Coquimbo Region, Chile. |
| 105 km (65 mi) S from epicenter |
Ovalle Coquimbo Region, Chile. |
| 129 km (80 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Vallenar Atacama, Chile. |
| 219 km (136 mi) S from epicenter |
Illapel Coquimbo Region, Chile. |
| 249 km (155 mi) ESE from epicenter |
San José de Jáchal San Juan, Argentina. |
| 270 km (168 mi) NNE from epicenter |
Copiapó Atacama, Chile. |
Shaking reported by 7 people
People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 7 people have reported shaking in 4 places, all within Chile.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.
Places with most reports:
- La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile: 3 people.
- Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile: 2 people.
- Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile: 1 person.
- Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile: 1 person.
4 Aftershocks detected
This main shock was followed by 4 smaller aftershocks. Just 21 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-4.3 was detected 47 km (29 mi) north of this earthquake.
In the days before this main shock, 2 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 2.9
Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks
| Classification | Magnitude | When | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreshock | M 2.9 |
3 days earlier Oct 30, 2024 13:07 (Santiago Time) | 61 km (38 mi) S from Main Shock. |
| Foreshock | M 2.7 |
2 hrs earlier Nov 2, 2024 02:33 (Santiago Time) | 90 km (56 mi) NNW from Main Shock. |
| Main Shock This Earthquake |
M 5.0 |
Nov 2, 2024 04:42 (Santiago Time) | - |
| Aftershock | M 2.7 |
7 hrs later Nov 2, 2024 11:51 (Santiago Time) | 81 km (51 mi) SSW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 4.3 |
21 hrs later Nov 3, 2024 01:16 (Santiago Time) | 47 km (29 mi) N from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 3.0 |
2 days later Nov 3, 2024 19:35 (Santiago Time) | 75 km (46 mi) WSW from Main Shock. |
| Aftershock | M 2.8 |
3 days later Nov 5, 2024 02:35 (Santiago Time) | 76 km (47 mi) S from Main Shock. |
More earthquakes coming?
The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.
It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).Earthquakes like this happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since October 20th, 2024, when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit 277 km (172 mi) further east-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck on September 16th, 2015.
In total, 247 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 15 days.
Tsunami very unlikely
While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck on land near a coastal area (6 km from the sea). | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 68 km (42 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 21/11/24 00:58 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000npid
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241102_0000084
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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