On Saturday Evening an Unusually powerful M6.2 Earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean near Chimbote (Peru).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 28th, 2025. Last updated January 8th, 2026.

An unusually powerful MAG-6.2 earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean 46 kilometer from Chimbote, Peru in the evening of Saturday December 27th, 2025. Around 3.7 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, 31 kilometers (19 mi) off the coast of Peru, 46 kilometer west-northwest of Chimbote in Ancash. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 66 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 27, 2025 21:51 (Lima Time) - Dec 28, 2025 02:51 Universal Time.
Location:	46 km WNW of Chimbote, Ancash, Peru. Coordinates 8°57'37"S 78°58'26"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.2 Detected by 35 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.052 .
Depth:	66 km (41 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong 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 100% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 3.7 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 3.7 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VI, which corresponds with strong shaking and probably light damage. Roughly 1,330 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 1.8 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Peru .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Peru . Coishco in Ancash, Peru is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 40 kilometer (25 mi) west of Coishco. The intensity of shaking and damage in Coishco is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Trujillo is located 94 km to the north and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Chimbote is located 46 km to the east-southeast and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Chiclayo is located 261 km to the north-northwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is VI. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 74 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 74 people have reported shaking in 18 places, all within Peru.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Lima, Lima Provincias, Peru: 25 people.
• San Luis, Lima Provincias, Peru: 16 people.
• Trujillo, La Libertad, Peru: 10 people.
• Chimbote, Ancash, Peru: 4 people.
• Huanchanco, La Libertad, Peru: 3 people.
• Caleta de Carquín, Lima Provincias, Peru: 2 people.
• Paiján, La Libertad, Peru: 2 people.
• Santa María, Lima Provincias, Peru: 2 people.
• Cajamarca, Cajamarca, Peru: 1 person.
• Celendín, Cajamarca, Peru: 1 person.

6 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 6 smaller aftershocks were detected. At a distance of 10 km (6 mi) southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 20 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 5

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

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.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 6.2 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Low tsunami risk

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

Sources

Last updated 08/01/26 04:08 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000rl57
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20251228_0000039
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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