Moderate yet deep earthquake of magnitude 5.3 just reported 124 km north of Calama, Chile

An intermediate magnitude 5.3 earthquake was reported early morning near Calama, Provincia de El Loa, Region de Antofagasta, Chile.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Tuesday, January 13th, 2026, at 4:28 am local time at an intermediate depth of 118. km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) which listed the quake at magnitude 5.3 as well.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Huatacondo (pop. 55) located 47 km from the epicenter, Pica (pop. 9,300) 100 km away, Calama (pop. 166,300) 124 km away, and Maria Elena (pop. 4,900) 127 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 13, 2026 07:28 am (Universal Time) local time (13 Jan 2026 07:28 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 118.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 21.37°S / 68.7°W (Provincia de Tocopilla, Region de Antofagasta, Chile)
Primary data source: EMSC
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