Moderate yet deep 5.3 quake hits near San Jose de Jachal, Departamento de Jáchal, San Juan Province, Argentina

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a magnitude 5.3 quake in Argentina near San Jose de Jachal, Departamento de Jáchal, San Juan Province, only 10 minutes ago. The earthquake hit early evening on Sunday, March 16th, 2025, at 6:50 pm local time at an intermediate depth of 116. km. 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 5.3 earthquake as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.1, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.1.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
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 San Jose de Jachal (pop. 21,000) located 127 km from the epicenter.
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: Mar 16, 2025 06:50 pm (San Juan time) local time (16 Mar 2025 21:50 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.3
Depth: 116.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 29.33°S / 69.54°W (Departamento de Iglesia, San Juan Province, Argentina)
Primary data source: EMSC
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/267168/Moderate-yet-deep-53-quake-hits-near-San-Jose-de-Jachal-Departamento-de-Jachal-San-Juan-Province-Arg.html