How frequent are earthquakes in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi)?

Q: How frequent are earthquakes in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi)?

The area where this quake occurred has a moderate level of seismic activity. Based on data from the past 54 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 14.9 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi). However, It has had at least 4 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 30 to 35 years.

Strong Mag. 6.0 Earthquake - S. Chile-Argentina Border Region on Thursday, Sep 26, 2019, at 01:36 pm (Santiago Time) -

Damage category	Number / Order of magnitude
People killed	1

Earthquake details

Date & time	Sep 26, 2019 16:36:17 UTC
Local time at epicenter	Thursday, Sep 26, 2019, at 01:36 pm (America/Santiago GMT -3)
Status	Preliminary (automatic detection)
Magnitude	6.0
Depth	111 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	40.68°S / 71.97°W Osorno, Los Lagos, Chile Also near: Argentina 4 km (2 mi) away
Seismic antipode	40.68°N / 108.03°E China
Shaking intensity	IV Light shaking near epicenter
Felt	27 reports
Primary data source	GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
Nearest volcano	Cerro Pantoja (10 km / 6 mi)
Weather at epicenter at time of quake
Estimated seismic energy released	6.3 x 10¹³ joules (17.5 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 15080 tons of TNT or 0.9 atomic bombs!) \| about seismic energy

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Additional info

A shellfish diver died while performing clam extraction work in the town of Carelmapu, in the commune of Maullin, during the earthquake that occurred in the south central area of the country. The 24-year-old, identified as Pablo Huenante Maldonado, was found inside a boat. According to Sago radio, the deputy commissioner of the PDI Homicide Brigade, Paula Orellana, presumed that as a result of the quake, the victim suffered a decompression, which would have caused death. (reference #12520)

Cited references

#1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013):
Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
#12520 National Television of Chile (2019): Buzo mariscador murio mientras realizaba labores de extraccion durante el sismo de este jueves. Published 27 September 2019. Link

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Chile

Nearby places

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Osorno, a city with more than 140,000 inhabitants in Chile, in 99 km (61 mi) distance west of the epicenter. People likely experienced light shaking there. Several smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of

Chile, Santiago de Chile, 812 km (504 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as very weak shaking.
The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.

Distance	Place	Max. shaking intensity(*)	Region	Country
29 km (18 mi) E of epicenter	Villa La Angostura (pop: 7,530)	IV: Light	Los Lagos, Neuquen	Argentina
53 km (33 mi) W of epicenter	Puyehue (pop: 3,930)	IV: Light	Ranco, Los Rios	Chile
76 km (47 mi) SE of epicenter	San Carlos de Bariloche (pop: 95,400)	IV: Light	Bariloche, Rio Negro	Argentina
78 km (49 mi) NE of epicenter	San Martin de Los Andes (pop: 23,500)	IV: Light	Lacar, Neuquen	Argentina
92 km (57 mi) NW of epicenter	Rio Bueno (pop: 15,500)	IV: Light	Ranco, Los Rios	Chile
99 km (61 mi) W of epicenter	Osorno (pop: 135,800)	IV: Light	Los Lagos	Chile
120 km (74 mi) SW of epicenter	Puerto Montt (pop: 160,100)	IV: Light	Llanquihue, Los Lagos	Chile
222 km (138 mi) N of epicenter	Temuco (pop: 238,100)	III: Weak	Cautin, Araucania	Chile
812 km (504 mi) N of epicenter	Santiago de Chile (pop: 4,837,300)	II: Very weak	Santiago, Santiago	Chile

Notes:
(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.

User-reports for this quake (42)

We received 28 reports for this quake.

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Santiago / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Osorno / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Chillán / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Vina del Mar / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) : I was on a 15th floor and the building begin to move sideways. I wasn't afraid because through out my entire life I survived 4 strong earthquakes. The last one on September 2015 that one was an 8.8 the strongest one ever !!!

Warren / Very weak shaking (MMI II)

Santiago airport / Weak shaking (MMI III)

La Vara / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Lamps moving 10cm and the floor moving up and Down.

puerto montt, chile / Light shaking (MMI IV) : was in a very large concrete hospital and the building could be flt rumbling like heavy object dropped and it lasted couple of seconds maybe 3 or 4

Valdivia / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Santiago downtown metro / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Lasted for about 10 seconds

Talcahuano, Chile. / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Me encontraba en el segundo nivel de un edificio de tres.

Russia. Sankt-Peterburg.not felt. / not felt : Без тряски и какой либо вибрации, не почувствовал и не ощущал, был дома, ужинал, всё тихо и спокойно, висяч

PUERTO MONTT / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : HOLA SENTI EL TEMBLOR EN FORMA MODERADA NO FUE COMO PARA ASUSTARSE, YO ESTABA EN UN 2 PISO SE MOVIÓ TODO, PERO PENSE QUE ERA UN MAREO AL PRINCIPIO.

Puerto Montt / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Valdivia / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Bariloche / Weak shaking (MMI III)

villa la angostura / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Se sintio un golpe seco fuerte y despues sacudidas

Ancud chiloe / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Un sacudon suave bajó de intencidad y despues movió fuerte

Valdivia / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Valdivia / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Temuco / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Puerto Varas Chile / Strong shaking (MMI VI)

San Carlos de Bariloche / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Los Angeles / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Puerto Montt / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Bariloche / Light shaking (MMI IV)

Puerto Varas / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Das Haus wackelte ein wenig und es dauerte etwa 5 Sekunden

Valdivia / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

Estación Central (Chile, 813 km N of epicenter) : Temblor medio, grado 6 Región de los Lagos , Chile. (reported through EMSC)

Temuco (Chile, 228 km NW of epicenter) : Se movió bastante (reported through EMSC)

Temuco (Chile, 228 km NW of epicenter) : He felt strong in Temuco, the "P" and "S" waves of the earthquake were appreciable. (reported through EMSC)

What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?

The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.
Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.
Read more about the MMI scale!

Compare Quake Data

Data for the same earthquake as reported by different agencies

The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.

Mag	Depth	Time GMT 2019-09-26	Epicenter	Agency
6.0	111 km 69 mi	16:36:17	S. Chile-Argentina Border Region	GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences)
6.1	122 km 76 mi	16:36:17	Los Lagos, Chile (Argentina) 6.1 km (3.8 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)
6.0	117 km 73 mi	16:36:16	Chile-Argentina Border Region 12 km (7.3 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	GeoAu (Geoscience Australia )
6.0	129 km 80 mi	16:36:18	Chile [Land] 4.8 km (3 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia)
6.0	140 km 87 mi	16:36:17	31 km al SE de Entre Lagos (Chile) 32 km (20 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	CSN (National Seismological Center (Centro Sismológico Nacional))
6.1	129 km 80 mi	16:36:18	30 km W of Villa La Angostura, Argentina 15 km (9.4 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	USGS (United States Geological Survey)
5.8	10 km 6.2 mi (*)	16:36:06	S. Chile-Argentina Border Region 14 km (8.5 mi) epicenter difference with GFZ	BMKG (Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia)

Notes:
(*) A depth given as 10 km often means that the the depth of the quake could not determined with sufficient accuracy.

Seismograms

Seismic station: Tornquist, Argentina (TRQA/IU network) | Distance from quake: 906 km / 563 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Tornquist, Argentina: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-5.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

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Seismic station Tornquist, Argentina: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Tornquist, Argentina: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake, showing horizontal E-W and N-S ground movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Las Campanas Astronomical Observatory, Chile (LCO/IU network) | Distance from quake: 1303 km / 809 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Las Campanas Astronomical Observatory, Chile: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-5.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Las Campanas Astronomical Observatory, Chile: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Las Campanas Astronomical Observatory, Chile: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Mount Kent, East Falkland Island (EFI/II network) | Distance from quake: 1620 km / 1006 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Mount Kent, East Falkland Island: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Mount Kent, East Falkland Island: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Mount Kent, East Falkland Island: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Palmer Station, Antarctica (PMSA/IU network) | Distance from quake: 2727 km / 1694 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Palmer Station, Antarctica: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Palmer Station, Antarctica: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Palmer Station, Antarctica: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station: Rapanui, Easter Island, Chile (RPN/II network) | Distance from quake: 3728 km / 2316 mi | Show on map | Station Info

Seismic station Rapanui, Easter Island, Chile: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.02-2.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Seismic station Rapanui, Easter Island, Chile: horizontal (E-W) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismic station Rapanui, Easter Island, Chile: horizontal (N-S) movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)

Seismograms around time of quake.
Top: vertical movement, bottom: horizontal (E-W and N-S) movements. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool

Aftershocks for this quake

No aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.

What are aftershocks?

Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.

[More info]

What about this quake?

Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface of approx. 100 km² (=39 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 17 km (11 mi).

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)

Date and Time GMT	Mag Depth	Distance	Region	Details
Sep 26, 2019 01:36 pm (Santiago) 5 years ago - felt	6.0 111 km	0 km - This quake	99 km E of Osorno, Osorno, Los Lagos, Chile Main Shock (this quake)	More

Map of aftershocks

Earthquake statistics

Average number of earthquakes

Based on data from the past 54 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 14.9 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):

Mag. 6 or higher: 0.03 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 31.3 years)
Mag. 5 or higher: 0.16 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 6.2 years)
Mag. 4 or higher: 2.9 quakes per year
Mag. 3 or higher: 11.4 quakes per year
Mag. 2 or higher: 14.3 quakes per year

The area where this quake occurred has a moderate level of seismic activity. However, It has had at least 4 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 30 to 35 years.

Number of quakes per year

Previous quakes in the same area of this earthquake

Strongest in 9 years

The earthquake was the strongest to hit this part of Chile in over 9 years. Earlier, the last quake of equal or greater strength near the present epicenter had been a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Sunday, Jan 2, 2011, at 04:20 pm local time (America/Santiago GMT -4) in 284 km (176 mi) distance to the northwest:

Mag. 7.2 earthquake Malleco - Araucania, Chile - Jan 2, 2011 -

The strongest-ever (since 1900) recorded quake in this area measured magnitude 7.7. It had occurred 49 years ago earlier, on Saturday, May 10, 1975, at 10:27 am local time (America/Santiago GMT -4) in Biobio,

Chile:

Mag. 7.7 earthquake Bio-Bio - Chile - May 10, 1975 -

Below is a list and map of (larger or recent) quakes that had occurred near the area of the epicenter before this earthquake (within up to 100 km/61 mi distance, up to 300 km/183 mi for very large quakes above mag. 7). Filter the list to limit the number to show, by magnitude or time before.

Date and Time	Mag Depth	Distance	Location	Details
Aug 13, 2019 03:46 am (Santiago)	4.3 133 km	58 km (36 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile 2 reports	Info
May 22, 2019 12:23 am (Santiago)	4.8 47 km	85 km (53 mi) to the W	20 km al NE de Osorno (Chile) 21 reports	Info
Jan 18, 2019 09:34 am (Santiago)	4.0 51 km	92 km (57 mi) to the W	8 km al E de Osorno 5 reports	Info
Nov 26, 2018 11:12 am (Salta)	4.5 161 km	99 km (61 mi) to the N	36 km al NO de San Martín de Los Andes 1 report	Info
Oct 17, 2018 07:34 am (Salta)	4.1 155 km	98 km (61 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Mar 5, 2017 11:56 pm (Santiago)	4.8 133 km	36 km (23 mi) to the N	S. Chile-Argentina Border Region 2 reports	Info
Apr 22, 2015 04:55 pm (Santiago)	4.6 10 km	93 km (58 mi) to the SW	18 km WSW of La Ensenada, Chile	Info
May 29, 2014 11:25 pm (Santiago)	4.6 74 km	68 km (42 mi) to the NW	Central Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 02:54 pm (Salta)	4.9 14 km	32 km (20 mi) to the NE	Neuquen, Argentina	Info
Jun 4, 2011 01:00 pm (Santiago)	4.7 10 km	39 km (24 mi) to the NE	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 12:28 pm (Santiago)	5.0 9.8 km	16 km (9.9 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 12:24 pm (Santiago)	4.7 13 km	26 km (16 mi) to the NW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 11:05 am (Santiago)	4.7 7.2 km	23 km (14 mi) to the NW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 09:58 am (Santiago)	4.9 13 km	32 km (20 mi) to the NW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 10:48 am (Salta)	4.7 10 km	31 km (19 mi) to the NE	Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 09:20 am (Santiago)	4.7 13 km	30 km (19 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jun 4, 2011 08:23 am (Santiago)	4.8 13 km	23 km (15 mi) to the NW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Apr 27, 2011 02:56 am (Santiago)	4.8 41 km	41 km (26 mi) to the NE	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jan 2, 2011 04:20 pm (Santiago)	7.2 24 km	284 km (176 mi) to the NW	Araucania, Chile	Info
Dec 14, 2010 12:42 pm (Santiago)	4.5 35 km	24 km (15 mi) to the NW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Sep 26, 2010 01:29 am (Santiago)	5.0 61 km	72 km (44 mi) to the W	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
May 24, 2010 05:14 am (Santiago)	4.6 35 km	34 km (21 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Mar 2, 2009 04:43 am (Salta)	4.7 177 km	73 km (45 mi) to the NE	Neuquen, Argentina	Info
Dec 13, 2007 01:34 am (Santiago)	5.0 9.2 km	22 km (14 mi) to the W	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Aug 20, 2007 06:52 pm (Salta)	4.8 50 km	34 km (21 mi) to the NE	Los Lagos, Chile (Argentina)	Info
Mar 27, 1999 07:13 am (Santiago)	5.5 33 km	73 km (45 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Sep 3, 1993 02:14 pm (Santiago)	5.2 33 km	92 km (57 mi) to the SW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
May 28, 1991 12:54 am (Santiago)	4.9 48 km	94 km (58 mi) to the NW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jul 31, 1987 12:29 pm (Santiago)	5.2 33 km	51 km (32 mi) to the W	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Jan 20, 1983 04:54 pm (Santiago)	5.0 33 km	41 km (26 mi) to the SW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Apr 22, 1979 09:31 pm (Santiago)	4.8 62 km	64 km (40 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Dec 5, 1978 06:24 am (Santiago)	4.8 33 km	88 km (55 mi) to the N	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
May 10, 1975 10:27 am (Santiago)	7.7 6 km	298 km (185 mi) to the N	Bio-Bio, Chile	Info
Aug 18, 1974 06:44 am (Santiago)	7.1 36 km	278 km (172 mi) to the NW	Araucania, Chile	Info
Jun 19, 1960 10:01 pm (Santiago)	7.0 25 km	292 km (182 mi) to the N	Araucania, Chile	Info
Jul 27, 1955 09:59 pm (Santiago)	6.1 15 km	14 km (8.8 mi) to the S	Llanquihue, 97 km east of Osorno, Osorno, Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Mar 1, 1934 09:45 pm (Universal Time)	6.6 15 km	55 km (34 mi) to the NW	Los Lagos, Chile	Info
Dec 10, 1920 04:25 am (Universal Time)	7.3 25 km	217 km (135 mi) to the NW	Neuquen, Argentina	Info
Mar 2, 1919 11:45 am (Universal Time)	7.2 15 km	268 km (167 mi) to the S	Chubut, Argentina	Info
Jun 13, 1907 09:18 am (Universal Time)	6.9 15 km	71 km (44 mi) to the N	48 km SSE of Panguipulli, Chile	Info