Earthquake details

Sunday, May 17, 1981 Earthquake

The earthquake hit Chile on Sunday, May 17, 1981 at 17:04 UTC with a magnitude of 5.4. The closest known location in the current dataset is Copiapó (Chile - CL), about 149.2 km away. The epicenter is located at longitude -71.831 and latitude -27.223.

Magnitude	5.4
Alert	Strong
Depth	33.0 km
Coordinates	-27.223, -71.831
UTC time	1981-05-17 17:04:58.020

Location	Copiapó
Country	Chile (CL)
Severity	Strong

Earthquake map 1981-05-17

Closest countries

The 12 closest cities near the epicenter.

Copiapó	149.2 km
Vallenar	183.9 km
La Serena	304.0 km
Coquimbo	307.7 km
Ovalle	381.0 km
Antofagasta	422.9 km
Chilecito	476.8 km
La Rioja	545.4 km
Chimbas	572.9 km
San Juan	576.8 km
Santa Lucía	579.2 km
Pocito	587.8 km

Nearby earthquakes

The latest 8 earthquakes within 100 km of this epicenter.

M 5.1

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-07-22 09:34 UTC

72.7 km

M 4.2

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-12 04:23 UTC

81.2 km

M 4.4

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 18:07 UTC

75.9 km

M 5.5

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 12:22 UTC

65.6 km

M 5.1

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 12:06 UTC

69.5 km

M 4.1

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 12:02 UTC

56.5 km

M 4.3

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 06:05 UTC

70.2 km

M 5.2

Copiapó

Chile · 2026-06-11 05:19 UTC

71.3 km

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