Written by on . Last updated February 15th, 2025.

In the morning of Sunday February 2nd, 2025, a significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit under land 29 kilometer from Ovalle in Chile. Another country near the epicenter is Argentina.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Chile, 29 kilometer (18 mi) west-southwest of Ovalle in Coquimbo Region. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 43 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time: Feb 2, 2025 10:54 (Santiago Time)
- Feb 2, 2025 13:54 Universal Time.
Location: 29 km WSW of Ovalle, Coquimbo Region, Chile.
Coordinates 30°42'39"S 71°28'45"W.
Map: Map of area around epicenter.
Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude: MAG 5.1
Detected by 288 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.034 .
Depth: 43 km (27 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 (21 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.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Ovalle in Coquimbo Region, Chile. Ovalle is located 29 kilometer (18 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Coquimbo is located 85 km to the north. La Serena is located 92 km to the north-northeast. San Juan is located 295 km to the east-southeast.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Distance Place
29 km (18 mi)
ENE from epicenter
Ovalle

Coquimbo Region, Chile.
85 km (53 mi)
N from epicenter
Coquimbo

Coquimbo Region, Chile.
92 km (57 mi)
NNE from epicenter
La Serena

Coquimbo Region, Chile.
107 km (66 mi)
SSE from epicenter
Illapel

Coquimbo Region, Chile.
195 km (121 mi)
S from epicenter
La Ligua

Valparaíso, Chile.
232 km (144 mi)
S from epicenter
Hacienda La Calera

Valparaíso, Chile.
238 km (148 mi)
SSE from epicenter
San Felipe

Valparaíso, Chile.
242 km (150 mi)
SSE from epicenter
Llaillay

Valparaíso, Chile.
243 km (151 mi)
S from epicenter
Quillota

Valparaíso, Chile.
247 km (153 mi)
NNE from epicenter
Vallenar

Atacama, Chile.
250 km (155 mi)
SSE from epicenter
Los Andes

Valparaíso, Chile.
257 km (160 mi)
S from epicenter
Viña del Mar

Valparaíso, Chile.
257 km (160 mi)
S from epicenter
Limache

Valparaíso, Chile.
259 km (161 mi)
S from epicenter
Valparaíso

Valparaíso, Chile.
259 km (161 mi)
S from epicenter
Villa Alemana

Valparaíso, Chile.
260 km (162 mi)
S from epicenter
Quilpué

Valparaíso, Chile.
267 km (166 mi)
ENE from epicenter
San José de Jáchal

San Juan, Argentina.
292 km (181 mi)
SSE from epicenter
Lampa

Santiago Metropolitan, Chile.
293 km (182 mi)
ESE from epicenter
Chimbas

San Juan, Argentina.
293 km (182 mi)
ESE from epicenter
Albardón

San Juan, Argentina.
293 km (182 mi)
ESE from epicenter
Villa Paula de Sarmiento

San Juan, Argentina.
295 km (183 mi)
ESE from epicenter
San Juan

San Juan, Argentina.
296 km (184 mi)
ESE from epicenter
Pocito

San Juan, Argentina.
297 km (185 mi)
SSE from epicenter
Chicureo Abajo

Santiago Metropolitan, Chile.
299 km (186 mi)
ESE from epicenter
Santa Lucía

San Juan, Argentina.
Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.

Shaking reported by 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places in 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:

  • Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile: 1 person.
  • La Ligua, Valparaíso, Chile: 1 person.

2 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 20 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.6 was detected 12 km (7 mi) east of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Classification Magnitude When Where
Main Shock
This Earthquake
M 5.1 Feb 2, 2025 10:54
(Santiago Time)
-
Aftershock M 3.6 20 hrs later
Feb 3, 2025 06:35 (Santiago Time)
12 km (7 mi)
E from Main Shock.
Aftershock M 3.0 3 days later
Feb 5, 2025 09:50 (Santiago Time)
99 km (61 mi)
N from Main Shock.
Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the 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 December 30th, 2024, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 100 km (62 mi) further north-northwest. An even stronger magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck on September 16th, 2015.

In total, 171 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 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 21 days.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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 (21 km from the sea). Not this earthquake.
This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 43 km (27 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 15/02/25 15:28 (). 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 us7000patn
  2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250202_0000217
  3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
  4. Google Maps: Static API
  5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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