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2010 Chile earthquake
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2010 Chile earthquake
On 27 February 2010 at 03:34 UTC−03:00, a Mww 8.8 megathrust earthquake struck off the coast of the Maule Region of central Chile. One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, it lasted approximately three minutes and was felt across six Chilean regions, home to roughly 80 percent of the country's population. The earthquake, which became known in Chile as the 27F earthquake (Spanish: Terremoto del 27F), was the largest to hit the country since the magnitude 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake and the strongest worldwide since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
The earthquake triggered a tsunami with wave heights reaching up to 24.1 m (79 ft) that devastated several coastal towns in south-central Chile, causing the most severe damage at Constitución. Tsunami warnings were issued across 53 countries, and waves caused damage as far away as California and Japan. The disaster resulted in 525 confirmed deaths and 25 missing persons, left approximately 370,000 homes damaged, and generated a nationwide blackout affecting 93 percent of the Chilean population. Economic losses were estimated at US$15–30 billion. President Michelle Bachelet declared a state of catastrophe and deployed the military to the worst-affected areas.
According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake was about 3 km (1.9 miles) off the coast of Pelluhue, a town in the Maule Region. This is about 6 km (3.7 miles) west of the village of Chovellén, 15 km (9.3 miles) southwest of the town of Pelluhue and at a point approximately 100 km (62 miles) away from the following four provincial capitals: Talca (to the north-east), Linares (to the east), Chillán (to the south-east) and Concepción (to the south). Chile's Seismological Service located the quake's epicenter at about 34 km (21 miles) off the coast of Ñuble Region in the Biobío Region. This is 60 km (37 miles) north of Concepción and 170 km (110 miles) south-west of Talca.
The earthquake took place along the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates at a location where they converge at a rate of 80 millimetres (3.1 in) a year.[citation needed] This earthquake was characterized by a thrust-faulting focal mechanism, caused by the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American Tectonic Plates. The end-regions of the rupture zone coincided with the Andean oroclines of Maipo (33° S) and Arauco (37° S). This has been interpreted as suggesting a link between upper plate (South American plate) structure and rupture length.
Chile has been at a convergent plate boundary that generates megathrust earthquakes since the Paleozoic era (500 million years ago). In historical times the Chilean coast has suffered many megathrust earthquakes along this plate boundary, including the strongest earthquake ever measured, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. More recently, the boundary ruptured during the 2007 Tocopilla earthquake in northern Chile.[citation needed]
The segment of the fault zone which ruptured in this earthquake was estimated to be over 700 km (430 mi) long with a displacement of almost 10 meters, or 120 years of accumulated plate movement. It lay immediately north of the 1,000 km (620 mi) segment which ruptured in the great earthquake of 1960. Preliminary measurements show that the entire South American plate moved abruptly westward during the quake. A research collaborative of Ohio State and other institutions have found, using GPS, that the earthquake shifted Santiago 28 cm (11 in) to the west-southwest and moved Concepción at least 3 metres (10 ft) to the west. The earthquake also shifted other parts of South America from the Falkland Islands to Fortaleza, Brazil. For example, it moved Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) to the west. Several cities south of Cobquecura were also raised by up to 3 meters. The maximum recorded peak ground acceleration was at Concepcion, with a value of 0.65 g (6.38 m/s2).
The locality of Tirúa south of Concepción recorded a 180 cm (71 in) uplift relative to sea level as a result of the earthquake. This is the highest known uplift of the coast resulting from the earthquake. This uplift made a large islet emerge at the mouth of Lebu River.
This was the strongest earthquake affecting Chile since the magnitude 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake (the most energetic earthquake ever measured), and it was the strongest earthquake worldwide since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and until the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. It is tied with the 1906 Ecuador–Colombia and 2025 Kamchatka earthquakes as the sixth strongest earthquake ever measured, approximately 500 times more powerful than the 7.0 Mw earthquake in Haiti one month prior in January 2010.
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2010 Chile earthquake
On 27 February 2010 at 03:34 UTC−03:00, a Mww 8.8 megathrust earthquake struck off the coast of the Maule Region of central Chile. One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, it lasted approximately three minutes and was felt across six Chilean regions, home to roughly 80 percent of the country's population. The earthquake, which became known in Chile as the 27F earthquake (Spanish: Terremoto del 27F), was the largest to hit the country since the magnitude 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake and the strongest worldwide since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
The earthquake triggered a tsunami with wave heights reaching up to 24.1 m (79 ft) that devastated several coastal towns in south-central Chile, causing the most severe damage at Constitución. Tsunami warnings were issued across 53 countries, and waves caused damage as far away as California and Japan. The disaster resulted in 525 confirmed deaths and 25 missing persons, left approximately 370,000 homes damaged, and generated a nationwide blackout affecting 93 percent of the Chilean population. Economic losses were estimated at US$15–30 billion. President Michelle Bachelet declared a state of catastrophe and deployed the military to the worst-affected areas.
According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake was about 3 km (1.9 miles) off the coast of Pelluhue, a town in the Maule Region. This is about 6 km (3.7 miles) west of the village of Chovellén, 15 km (9.3 miles) southwest of the town of Pelluhue and at a point approximately 100 km (62 miles) away from the following four provincial capitals: Talca (to the north-east), Linares (to the east), Chillán (to the south-east) and Concepción (to the south). Chile's Seismological Service located the quake's epicenter at about 34 km (21 miles) off the coast of Ñuble Region in the Biobío Region. This is 60 km (37 miles) north of Concepción and 170 km (110 miles) south-west of Talca.
The earthquake took place along the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates at a location where they converge at a rate of 80 millimetres (3.1 in) a year.[citation needed] This earthquake was characterized by a thrust-faulting focal mechanism, caused by the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American Tectonic Plates. The end-regions of the rupture zone coincided with the Andean oroclines of Maipo (33° S) and Arauco (37° S). This has been interpreted as suggesting a link between upper plate (South American plate) structure and rupture length.
Chile has been at a convergent plate boundary that generates megathrust earthquakes since the Paleozoic era (500 million years ago). In historical times the Chilean coast has suffered many megathrust earthquakes along this plate boundary, including the strongest earthquake ever measured, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. More recently, the boundary ruptured during the 2007 Tocopilla earthquake in northern Chile.[citation needed]
The segment of the fault zone which ruptured in this earthquake was estimated to be over 700 km (430 mi) long with a displacement of almost 10 meters, or 120 years of accumulated plate movement. It lay immediately north of the 1,000 km (620 mi) segment which ruptured in the great earthquake of 1960. Preliminary measurements show that the entire South American plate moved abruptly westward during the quake. A research collaborative of Ohio State and other institutions have found, using GPS, that the earthquake shifted Santiago 28 cm (11 in) to the west-southwest and moved Concepción at least 3 metres (10 ft) to the west. The earthquake also shifted other parts of South America from the Falkland Islands to Fortaleza, Brazil. For example, it moved Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) to the west. Several cities south of Cobquecura were also raised by up to 3 meters. The maximum recorded peak ground acceleration was at Concepcion, with a value of 0.65 g (6.38 m/s2).
The locality of Tirúa south of Concepción recorded a 180 cm (71 in) uplift relative to sea level as a result of the earthquake. This is the highest known uplift of the coast resulting from the earthquake. This uplift made a large islet emerge at the mouth of Lebu River.
This was the strongest earthquake affecting Chile since the magnitude 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake (the most energetic earthquake ever measured), and it was the strongest earthquake worldwide since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and until the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. It is tied with the 1906 Ecuador–Colombia and 2025 Kamchatka earthquakes as the sixth strongest earthquake ever measured, approximately 500 times more powerful than the 7.0 Mw earthquake in Haiti one month prior in January 2010.
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