On Monday Afternoon a Shallow M5.5 Earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean 114km from Copiapó (Chile).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 3rd, 2025. Last updated November 8th, 2025.

In the early afternoon of Monday November 3rd, 2025, a shallow and significant M5.5 earthquake hit in the South Pacific Ocean 114 kilometer from Copiapó, Chile. Around 300 thousand people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, 57 kilometers (36 mi) off the coast of Chile, 114 kilometer west of Copiapó in Atacama. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 25 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 3, 2025 12:51 (Santiago Time) - Nov 3, 2025 15:51 Universal Time.
Location:	114 km west of Copiapó, Atacama, Chile. Coordinates 27°26'45"S 71°28'42"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 18 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.073 .
Depth:	25 km (15 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually 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 300 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 300 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 19,890 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 270 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 300 thousand people were exposed to shaking in Chile , with level IV (light shaking, likely no damage) as the highest recorded. Shaking was experienced by inhabitants of Argentina too.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
7,650	II	Very weak	None
273,300	III	Weak	Probably none
19,890	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Chile . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Copiapó in Atacama, Chile. Copiapó is located 114 kilometer (71 mi) west of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Copiapó is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Copiapó is located 114 km to the east and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Coquimbo is located 279 km to the south (intensity unknown, possibly low). La Serena is located 274 km to the south (intensity unknown, possibly low).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
114 km (71 mi) E from epicenter	Copiapó Atacama, Chile.	III Weak
144 km (89 mi) SSE from epicenter	Vallenar Atacama, Chile.	III Weak
184 km (114 mi) NE from epicenter	Diego de Almagro Atacama, Chile.	III Weak
274 km (170 mi) S from epicenter	La Serena Coquimbo Region, Chile.
279 km (173 mi) S from epicenter	Coquimbo Coquimbo Region, Chile.

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

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 4 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 4 people have reported shaking in 3 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:

Copiapó, Atacama, Chile: 2 people.
Vallenar, Atacama, Chile: 1 person.
Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile: 1 person.

3 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 3 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 96 km (60 mi) south-southeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 3.4

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.5	Nov 3, 2025 12:51 (Santiago Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.3	26 mins later Nov 3, 2025 13:17 (Santiago Time)	8 km (5 mi) SSE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.3	21 hrs later Nov 4, 2025 10:18 (Santiago Time)	11 km (7 mi) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.4	3 days later Nov 6, 2025 06:06 (Santiago Time)	96 km (60 mi) SSE from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

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.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major 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 June 6th, 2025, when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit 139 km (86 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on November 11th, 2015.

In total, 46 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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 3 months.

Low tsunami risk

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.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so 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 under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 25 km (15 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 08/11/25 15:28 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.