Strong and shallow M6.3 earthquake hits near the coast of Atacama, Chile
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 struck offshore Atacama, Chile, at 13:39 UTC (10:39 LT) on March 13, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Epicenter of M6.3 earthquake in Offshore Atacama, Chile on March 13, 2026. Credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located 85 km (53 miles) W of Vallenar (population 44 895), 140 km (87 miles) NNW of La Serena (population 154 521), and 144 km (90 miles) N of Coquimbo (population 161 317).
1 000 people are estimated to have felt strong shaking, 12 000 moderate, and 658 000 light.
There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick with concrete floor and precast concrete frame with wall construction.
The earthquake occurred along the South American subduction zone, where the Nazca Plate is moving beneath the South America Plate along a margin stretching more than 7 000 km (4 350 miles) from southern Chile to Panama.
This plate convergence drives uplift of the Andes, fuels volcanic activity along much of the continent’s western edge, and generates frequent earthquakes, most of them at shallow depths of up to 70 km (43 miles).
Large interplate earthquakes are common in this region and can be tsunamigenic, including some of the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquakes in history, such as the 1960 M9.5 Chile event and the 2010 M8.8 Maule earthquake.
The geometry of subduction varies along the margin, influencing where earthquakes occur, how deep they rupture, and where volcanism is present or absent.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.3 earthquake offshore Atacama, Chile – USGS – March 13, 2026
2 M6.3 earthquake offshore Atacama, Chile – EMSC – March 13, 2026
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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