A magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred on May 25 local time in northern Chile near the Atacama Desert, approximately 29-31 kilometers from the town of Calama [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. The quake struck around 5:52 p.m. local time, or 5:52 a.m. Singapore time on May 26 [1, 4].
The earthquake’s focal depth was reported with some variation by agencies, generally ranging between 89 km and 109 km, most commonly around 100-109 km [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. It was described as a deep or mid-depth quake along the seismically active Ring of Fire, where Chile frequently experiences strong earthquakes [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9].
No casualties or serious property damage have been reported as of the latest updates. The Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Department confirmed, “No tsunami risk has been triggered by this earthquake, and no casualties or serious damage have been reported so far” [1].
The quake was felt widely across northern Chilean regions including Arica, Tarapaca, Antofagasta, and Atacama, causing items to fall off supermarket shelves as seen on local television [1, 4, 8].
Mining operations in the Antofagasta region were affected. The Chilean National Copper Corporation, Codelco, along with other companies, suspended parts of copper mining production due to reduced visibility and localized power outages following the quake. Codelco said, “The earthquake caused reduced visibility and localized power outages in some mining areas, forcing suspension of some mining operations to ensure safety and to inspect critical facilities” [2, 6, 9].
There were no tsunami warnings issued after the earthquake, as local authorities confirmed no tsunami risk posed by the event [1, 4, 6, 8, 9].
Codelco and other mining companies suspended portions of production shortly after the earthquake to assess safety and operational conditions [2, 6, 9].
