The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: ABX on April 03, 2014, 03:35:14 am
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http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000p27i#summary
M7.8 - 23km S of Iquique, Chile 2014-04-03 02:43:15 UTC
Event Time
2014-04-03 02:43:15 UTC 2014-04-02 23:43:15 UTC-03:00 at epicenter 2014-04-02 19:43:15 UTC-07:00 system time Location
20.430°S 70.113°W depth=20.0km (12.4mi)
Nearby Cities
23km (14mi) S of Iquique, Chile 184km (114mi) N of Tocopilla, Chile 217km (135mi) S of Arica, Chile 256km (159mi) NNW of Calama, Chile 481km (299mi) SSW of La Paz, Bolivia
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry2td7q5ZMc
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That was meant for the jukebox - but sod it. It fits!
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And a 6.4 right behind that, all in the same area as yesterday's quake.
Clearly there is a massive amount of strain given how many quakes they've had of all sizes for several weeks now.
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000
WEPA40 PHEB 030313
TSUPAC
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0313Z 03 APR 2014
THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
IN THIS MESSAGE THE MAGNITUDE IS INCREASED TO 7.8.
... A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT ...
A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR
CHILE / PERU
FOR ALL OTHER AREAS COVERED BY THIS BULLETIN... IT IS FOR
INFORMATION ONLY AT THIS TIME.
http://ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/text.php?id=pacific.TSUPAC.2014.04.03.0313
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And a 6.4 right behind that, all in the same area as yesterday's quake.
Clearly there is a massive amount of strain given how many quakes they've had of all sizes for several weeks now.
Related to the recent solar flares? An M class at this part of the cycle is unusual.
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I doubt it. This is a subduction zone, one which generated the largest earthquake ever recorded. Large earthquakes are very common in that area.
When the plates get locked, the strains builds up until one lets go and you get a 8+ quake such as what we saw off Japan and Indonesia previously.
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Fair enough. You follow these things more.
Was just wondering since we have started the infall to perihelion and the tilt shift from south to north and it's going to be stressing on the crust.
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sounds like, so far, the strain is being released in small chunks over time; hopefully there won't be a big one
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I doubt it. This is a subduction zone, one which generated the largest earthquake ever recorded. Large earthquakes are very common in that area.
When the plates get locked, the strains builds up until one lets go and you get a 8+ quake such as what we saw off Japan and Indonesia previously.
yep...and then some time later you get a massive volcanic eruption because of all the material that was subducted. Endless cycle....
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I thought it might be useful to point out that despite an enormous earthquake and continuing very strong aftershocks, injuries have been minimal and no deaths reported that I am aware of.
The 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti killed over 200,000 people almost immediately.
This shows how Chile has learned from long experience with large quakes and has responded by strengthening their building codes. By and far, most of their buildings have survived and while there is widespread damage it is fairly minimal in comparison.
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This shows how Chile has learned from long experience with large quakes and has responded by strengthening their building codes. By and far, most of their buildings have survived and while there is widespread damage it is fairly minimal in comparison.
I was thinking the same thing, but then I drove down the streets of Iquique, Chile the largest town nearest the epicenter thanks to the magic of Google Maps, and most of the town appears to be old run down buildings worse condition than our poorest neaighborhoods. But they are mostly 1 and 2 story buildings and that may have helped.
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I was thinking the same thing, but then I drove down the streets of Iquique, Chile the largest town nearest the epicenter thanks to the magic of Google Maps, and most of the town appears to be old run down buildings worse condition than our poorest neaighborhoods. But they are mostly 1 and 2 story buildings and that may have helped.
1 and 2 story buildings are usually the most vulnerable to earthquakes because they're made of masonry, which doesn't handle tension well and their harmonic frequency is very close to that of most earthquakes. In places like California the risk is ameliorated because the ground is so broken up underneath with little faults; in a place like NYC, however, a quake like this one would devastate neighborhood after neighborhood of old 4 and 5 story walkups.