51 km SW of Taltal, Chile

62 days ago

USGS

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 51 km SW of Taltal, Chile on 31 Aug 2026, 21:30 UTC. The hypocentre was 27.8 km below the surface — shallow by seismological convention.

Depth: 27.8 km
Latitude: 25.76°S
Time: 21:30 UTC
Magnitude: M4.3

EPICENTRE

View the official report↗

MAGNITUDE 4.3

Noticeable shaking of indoor objects. Damage is unlikely.

The scale is logarithmic: this released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 3.0, roughly the energy of 43 tonnes of TNT.

27.8 KM DEEP

Shallow earthquakes release their energy close to the surface, so they are felt more strongly, and do more damage, than deeper earthquakes of the same magnitude.