Shallow M6.3 Earthquake hit in the South Pacific Ocean near Vallenar (Chile) on Friday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 13th, 2026. Last updated April 21st, 2026.

A shallow and strong Magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean 71 kilometer from Vallenar, Chile in the morning of Friday March 13th, 2026. Roughly 0.8 million people may have felt this earthquake. Argentina is also near its epicenter.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of Chile (8 mi offshore), 71 kilometer west of Vallenar in Atacama. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 24 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Mar 13, 2026 10:39 (Santiago Time) - Mar 13, 2026 13:39 Universal Time.
Location:	71 km west of Vallenar, Atacama, Chile. Coordinates 28°41'34"S 71°28'43"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.3 Detected by 44 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.047 .
Depth:	24 km (15 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very 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

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

One building damaged at Freirina.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 94% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 0.8 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 0.8 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VI, which corresponds with strong shaking and probably light damage. Roughly 870 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 680 thousand). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Chile , around 0.8 million people, with impact levels up to VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). In Argentina, shaking was experienced too.

Nearby towns and cities

Chile and Argentina are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

Vallenar in Atacama, Chile is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 71 kilometer (44 mi) west of Vallenar. The intensity of shaking and damage in Vallenar is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Coquimbo is located 141 km to the south and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). La Serena is located 137 km to the south and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Copiapó is located 186 km to the north-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely 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 graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VI.

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 33 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 33 people have reported shaking in 11 places in 2 countries (Chile, Argentina).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Santiago, Metropolitana, Chile: 8 people.
• La Serena, Coquimbo, Chile: 7 people.
• Vallenar, Atacama, Chile: 5 people.
• Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile: 3 people.
• Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Chile: 2 people.
• Lampa, Metropolitana, Chile: 2 people.
• Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina: 2 people.
• La Rioja, La Rioja, Argentina: 1 person.
• Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile: 1 person.
• San Juan, San Juan, Argentina: 1 person.

65 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 65 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 16 km (10 mi) southwest of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 3 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4

Before this earthquake struck, 3 smaller foreshocks occurred. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit 3 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 6th, 2025, when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit 252 km (156 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on September 1st, 2020.

In total, 11 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.3 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 year.

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 21/04/26 02:28 (). 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 us6000sg0y
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260313_0000254
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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