Moderate magnitude 4.8 quake hits 37 km southeast of Iquique, Chile late at night

An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 occurred only 15 minutes ago 37 km southeast of Iquique, Chile, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 18.30 km beneath the epicenter near Iquique, Provincia de Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile, late at night on Thursday, February 5th, 2026, at 11:27 pm local time. 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.
A second report was later issued by The National Seismological Center (Centro Sismológico Nacional, CSN) of the University of Chile, which listed it as a magnitude 5.0 earthquake. A third agency, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), reported the same quake at magnitude 4.8.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Los Verdes (pop. 220) located 16 km from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Chanavayita (pop. 600) located 25 km from the epicenter, Alto Hospicio (pop. 142,100) 30 km away, Iquique (pop. 199,600) 37 km away, Pozo Almonte (pop. 16,900) 41 km away, Huara (pop. 2,900) 66 km away, and Pica (pop. 9,300) 74 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: Feb 5, 2026 11:27 pm (Santiago time) local time (6 Feb 2026 02:27 GMT)
Magnitude: 4.8
Depth: 18.30 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 20.53°S / 70.04°W (Provincia de Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile)
Primary data source: EMSC
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