Tag Archives: Chile

Earthquake Near Capital of Chile

Posted on by

 Moderate earthquake near the Chilean capital Santiago de Chile

Last update: March 24, 2012 at 2:39 pm by By 

USGS I Have Felt It values – Moderate to light shaking in average (MMI IV-V)

M 5.2      2012/03/24 07:28     Depth 68.8 km      REGION METROPOLITANA, CHILE
We have an unusual number Chile visitors in the site at this moment.
This means an earthquake has struck Chile
Universidad de Chile is not reachable
Other agencies have no values yet
The first “experience reports” we are receiving are mentioning a strong shaking in Santiago de Chile
USGS is mentioning a preliminary Magnitude of 5.1 @ a depth of 66.7 km
If these data are confirmed, the earthquake would not be damaging
The epicenter has been (preliminary) located at 50 km from Santiago de Chile (capital)
The fact that the epicenter is located so close to the Chilean capital is the reason why millions of people have felt this earthquake as very dangerous.  The depth of 60 km gives almost the same shaking values in Santiago than in the epicentral area.
Update 08:00 UTC : Universidad de Santiago de Chile is reporting a M 5.3 at a depth of 68.9 km. These data are confirming our earlier stated expectations that this earthquake would not lead to serious damage or injuries
Update 08:51 UTC : This earthquake is a typical “subduction earthquake“. The Oceanic Nazca plate is subducting (gliding below) the continental South American plate. This gliding effect is not always smooth, and the Nazca plate sometimes hangs (stops moving). The continuous moving of the Nazca plate increases the pressure and the resistance point breaks off : earthquake. The depth of 69 km gives an approx. impression of the thickness of the South American plate at the epicenter (of course theoretically, as the breaking point maybe also deeper or shallower)
Update 09:07 UTC : Onemi Chile has had (as expected) NO reports of damages or injuries
MMI values as recorded by ONEMI Chile
Región: Coquimbo
MMI V : Canela, Los Vilos, Salamanca
Región: Valparaíso
MMI V : Casablanca, Concón, El Quisco, La Ligua, Los Andes, Quillota, San Antonio, San Felipe, Valparaíso, Villa Alemana, Viña del Mar, Zapallar
MMI IV : Quintero
Región: Metropolitana de Santiago
Puente Alto, San Bernardo, Santiago, Talagante, Tiltil
Región: Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins
Rancagua: IV

for more information and updates, go to:  http://earthquake-report.com/2012/03/24/earthquakes-list-march-24-2012/

Lascar Volcano Activity — Chile

Posted on by

– Chile / Lascar (11:47 UTC)
As mentioned already yesterday Lascar volcano in the Atacama desert in Chile is waking up gradually. Sernageomin has detected a lot of earthquakes. Click here for their detailed report published on January 5 (Spanish). A new one is expected soon.
On the webcam this morning, we see sulfur rich fumeroles at the left side of the volcano. Lascar is known to be spectacular if erupting and sending ashes kilometers high in the sky !

Image captures from the Sernageomin webcam near Lascar Volcano Chile

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/12/31/worldwide-volcano-news/

North Chile Coastal Earthquake

Posted on by

Dangerous shallow earthquake below the Northern Chile coast

Last update: December 7, 2011 at 11:43 pm by By 

Earthquake overview : The (extremely) shallow earthquake (USGS data) occurred along the northern Chile coast.  Only a few villages are located in the direct epicenter area and are at risk during this earthquake.  Locations like Huasco, Copiapo and Caldera will have felt the shaking. The difference in epicenter location and hypocenter leads to a theoretical difference in intensity from max. V (Chile) to VIII (USGS)

Thanks to Carlos Robles who joined us in searching information

Update 23:31 UTC :  Current ONEMI report : No se reportan daños a personas, alteración a servicios básicos o infraestructura producto de este sismo = No injured people reported so far. NO disruption to basic services or infrastructure.

Shaking map Atacama December 7, 2011 earthquake – image courtesy USGS

Update :  The Chilean Armyresponsible for Tsunami alerting reports :
LAS CARACTERÍSTICAS DEL SISMONO REÚNEN LAS CONDICIONES NECESARIAS PARA GENERAR UN TSUNAMI EN LAS COSTAS DE CHILE.

Update :  the earthquake is NOT powerful enough to generate a tsunami of the Chilean University was right with his location of the epicenter.

Update :  A strong earthquake of 6.1 grades affected some localities on the north of Chile and caused panic among the inhabitants. The local newspapers informed that a lot ofpeople where in the shopping malls and escaped asap to open places, thinking that it was a stronger earthquake.

Update :  GDACS is giving population density numbers based upon the USGS epicenter (which we doubt is the right one). GDACS is reporting the following population numbers : 240 people are living within a radius of 5 km from the epicenter, 508 within 10 km, 2026 within 20 km and 10,484 people within 50 km.

Update :  The difference in epicenter location is that USGS is reporting very extreme intensity numbers :
331 people would have experienced a VIII MMI severe shaking, 925 people a very strong shaking, 4,000 people a strong shaking, 207,000 people a moderate shaking and 74,000 people a light shaking.

Update :  ONEMI Chile (one of the best emergency information services in the world) has reported the following MMI values :
Región: Atacama 
Caldera:     V
Chañaral:     III
Copiapó:     V
Diego de Almagro:     II
Huasco:     V
Los Loros:     V
Tierra Amarilla:     V
Región: Coquimbo 
Coquimbo:     III
La Higuera:     III
La Serena:     III
Vicuña:     IV
Región: Valparaíso 
Villa Alemana :     III

 

Epicenter following the Chilean Universidad de Chile – Image courtesy Universidad de Chile

Update :  the main reason why we have started this in-depth article was the fact that USGS reported the epicenter below land and close to a village. The University of Chile did report the epicenter in the ocean(approx. 30 km in the Pacific Ocean). The exact location of the epicenter is extremely important in labeling the earthquake as dangerous or not dangerous. If the Chilean data are correct, the biggest risk will be gone.

Update :  Universidad de Chile is reporting a magnitude of 5.8 at a depth of 24.4 km (a lot better than the initial 5 km reported by USGS)

Update : Max. intensity value is V MMI (Onemi Chile)

Update : ONEMI Chile is calling the earthquake “Mediana Intensidad“, a very good sign.

Update : The epicenter (if confirmed) is below a very sparsely populated area (USGS data)

for more and updates, go to:   http://earthquake-report.com/2011/12/07/dangerous-shallow-earthquake-below-the-northern-chile-coast/

Hudson Volcano in Chile—Alert

Posted on by

Last update: October 27, 2011 at 6:58 pm by By 

Cerro Hudson volcano, a Southern  Andean volcano  located in the border area in between Chile and Argentina has started a minor eruption.
SERNAGEOMIN, the Chilean authority who is guarding the activity of the volcanoes hasincreased the alert level from 3 to 5 (Red Alert).

Onemi, the Chile government organization who is coordinating all actions to protect people and infrastructure from being damages /injured has called the RED alert for the following localities : Aysén, Río Ibáñez and Chile Chico in the Aysén area.

Both organizations will of course follow up the situation of Cerro Hudson 24 hours on 24 and 7 days on 7. Due to the remote location of this volcano, the reporting from the eruptions will be far less than it was the case with the Puyehue – Cordón Caulle

ONEMI update October 27 – 18:51 UTC :
There are now three steam vents on the volcano. One of the vents is also emitting ash. The 3 vents are approx. 500 meter from each other (triangular form). This was observed this morning (Chile time) and was analyzed by SERNAGEOMIN technical staff.
119 people are currently evacuated from the Lake Caro area and have moved to houses from relatives in the area. Chile police is trying to evacuate an additional 13 people. Onemi Chile has reported that until this morning nearly 900 volcanic earthquakes were noticed. Only a limited number were felt by the people living in the area. New FlyBy’s are planned later today to follow up what is happening. Onemi also told the press that they are ready to take whatever measures are necessary to control the situation. Emergency staff in the volcano area have been equipped with satellite phones.

Activity report October 26, 2011
Translation of the Sernageomin press statement by Earthquake-Report.com
The Red alert (Level 5) has been called by SernaGeomin out of fear that a major eruption could happen in the coming hours or days.
The Hudson volcano eruptions are characterized by eruptive columns of several km high.
The dispersion of this material in the atmosphere could affect localities to N, E and S of the volcano. Unlike most volcanoes in other regions of Chile, Aysen population centers are situated downwind of volcanic centers and therefore are highly likely to receive fall of pyroclastic material.
The huge quantities of ice in the caldera could eventually generate destructive lahars(volcanic mudflow), mainly affecting the river valleys of  Cupquelan and Huemules, located to the NW of the volcano.
Pyroclastic flows could, depending on the magnitude, affect the immediate vicinity of the caldera (within a radius of 15 to 20 km),
SERNAGEOMIN staff and local authorities today conducted a flyby in Hudson Volcano, which could see a column of gas, white and with little ash, about 1.5 km in height, with the subsequent formation of the Rio Huemules lahars. Erupting lava has not been seen. We have to state however that during the 1973 eruption a subglacial eruption occurred. This suggests a process of fissure opening at shallow levels and the onset of an eruptive process that is still minor but can evolve into a major eruption in hours and / or days.

for more, photos, updates and info, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/10/27/chilean-authorities-are-raising-hudson-volcano-cerro-hudson-to-red-alert-after-minor-eruption/

 

 

 

 

Chilean Earthquake

Posted on by

Strong earthquake near Valparaiso, Chile – also awakes Santiago de Chile – NO damage or injuries

Last update: September 14, 2011 at 4:36 pm by By 

Earthquake overview : At 4:04 AM Chile local time, a strong moderate earthquake occurred close to Valparaiso, Chile. Strong MMI VI shaking has been experienced near the epicenter.

U

pdate 10:02 UTC : after screening our many various sources, we are happy to report that this earthquake made NO damage or did NOT injure people (published 3 hours after the earthquake struck).

Update 08:04 UTC : Our Chile readers are fading away from our screens, which means that most of them went back to their beds after looking into the details of this earthquake. It is 05:04 AM in the Chile night.

Update 08:03 UTC : Some people report 2 weak aftershocks.

for more, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/14/strong-earthquake-near-valparaiso-chile/