Shallow M5.5 Earthquake struck on Thursday Morning in the South Pacific Ocean 147km from Copiapó (Chile).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on June 11th, 2026.

In the South Pacific Ocean 147 kilometer from Copiapó, Chile, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred in the morning of Thursday June 11th, 2026. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 300 thousand people.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, 69 kilometers (43 mi) off the coast of Chile, 147 kilometer west of Copiapó in Atacama. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jun 11, 2026 08:22 (Santiago Time) - Jun 11, 2026 12:22 Universal Time.
Location:	147 km west of Copiapó, Atacama, Chile. Coordinates 27°48'14"S 71°44'26"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 33 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.054 .
Depth:	10 km (6 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 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 300 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 300 thousand 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 12,040 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 290 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Chile , around 300 thousand people, with impact levels up to IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Shaking was experienced by inhabitants of Argentina too.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Chile . Vallenar in Atacama, Chile is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 129 kilometer (80 mi) northwest of Vallenar. The intensity of shaking and damage in Vallenar is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Copiapó is located 147 km to the east and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Coquimbo is located 242 km to the south (intensity unknown, possibly low). La Serena is located 238 km to the south (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 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

6 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 6 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 5 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.8 was detected 26 km (16 mi) south-east of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 10 smaller foreshocks occurred. A 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 7 hrs earlier nearby.

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.

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 March 13th, 2026, when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit 102 km (63 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on September 1st, 2020.

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

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 11/06/26 18:28 (). 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 us7000ss82
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20260611_0000220
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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