On Thursday Evening an M4.3 Earthquake struck near Chillán in Chile.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 7th, 2024. Last updated December 3rd, 2024.

Under land 29 kilometer from Chillán in Chile, a MAG-4.3 earthquake occurred in the evening of Thursday November 7th, 2024. Around 3.3 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Chile, 29 kilometer (18 mi) southwest of Chillán in Ñuble. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 65 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 7, 2024 19:10 (Santiago Time) - Nov 7, 2024 22:10 Universal Time.
Location:	29 km SW of Chillán, Ñuble, Chile. Coordinates 36°46'59"S 72°20'19"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.3 Detected by 4 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.265 .
Depth:	65 km (40 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 3.3 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 3.3 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 181,200 people are expected to be exposed to this level. The majority of people (roughly 2 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 3.3 million people were exposed to shaking in Chile , with level IV (light shaking, likely no damage) as the highest recorded. People were exposed to shaking in Argentina as well.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Chile . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Cabrero in Biobío, Chile. Cabrero is located 29 kilometer (18 mi) north of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Cabrero is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Chillán is located 29 km to the north-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Talcahuano is located 70 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Concepción is located 63 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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.

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 November 3rd, 2024, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 288 km (179 mi) further east-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on August 1st, 2019.

In total, 459 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.3 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 8 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

Sources

Last updated 03/12/24 00:48 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nqii
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241107_0000235
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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