Chile earthquake: Still waiting for "the big one"
Chile, located on the "ring of fire" stretching all the way to Asia, escaped major damage this week but large 8.8-8.9 earthquake expected in the future.
Chile, located on the "ring of fire" stretching all the way to Asia, escaped major damage this week but large 8.8-8.9 earthquake expected in the future.
People walk along a cracked road in Iquique, northern Chile, on April 2, 2014 a day after a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake hit off Chile's Pacific coast. An 8.2 magnitude earthquake hit Chile late Tuesday, killing at least six people and generating tsunami waves that might ripple as far as Indonesia. AFP PHOTO / ALDO SOLIMANO (Photo: Aldo Solimano/AFP/Getty Images)
EARTHQUAKES
Chili earthquake: Still waiting for "the big one"
AFP, Agencies & Wikipedia
Chileans desperate for supplies stood in long lines outside shops after strong aftershocks from a deadly 8.2-magnitude earthquake forced them to spend another night out in the cold. After six people were killed in late Tuesday's earthquake, northern Chile was rocked by another powerful 7.6-magnitude aftershock Wednesday night, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes once more.
Yet another aftershock with a magnitude of 6.1 hit late Thursday, off the coast with an epicenter 76 km southeast of the northern city of Iquique.
The National Seismology Center reported more than 10 aftershocks per hour. The first earthquake caused damage to some 2,500 homes in and around Iquique. A collapsed wall at a women's prison allowed some 300 inmates to escape, only 110 of the prisoners have been recaptured. People in the town are reportedly sleeping outside because, "the earth hasn't stopped shaking. The floor moves every other moment."
In 2010, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake authorities called off a tsunami alert, prompting people to prematurely return home. More than 500 people died in the ensuing waves. The earthquake was so violent, one whole city was moved about more than three meters to the west. (story continued after map)
"The Ring of Fire is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. In a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements. It has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes. (Source: Wikipedia)
Chile is located on the so-called "ring of fire" and has yet to experience "the big one," a major earthquake predicted for sometime in the future.
An earthquake happens the sides of a fault line in the earth's surface slip past each other and the surface ruptures. There have been around 50 to 100 smaller earthquakes along the fault line in recent weeks and a 6.7 and a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck late last month.
The fault line along Chile's 4,200 kilometer long coast has constantly shifted during the last 140 years and there have been frequent earthquakes, but the area to the north and south of this week's quake hasn't had an earthquake in around 140 years and a large earthquake of 8.8-8.9 magnitude is expected sometime in the future, it could be tommorrow or it could be in 50 years, because scientists are still unable to predict earthquakes with accuracy.
Sources of information: here, here and here.
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