A strong earthquake of magnitude 8.2 on the Richter scale struck off the northern coast of Chile at around 23:46 (GMT), triggering a tsunami alert across the country. The quake was centred 86 km away from the coast of Chile in north-west parts of Iquique near the Peruvian border and had a depth of 12.5 miles. So far 5 people have been killed in the incident.
At least eight strong aftershocks followed in the few hours after the quake, including tremors of 6.2 magnitude.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) issued a warning for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia and Panama. Media reports confirmed that the massive quake generated a large tsunami with the biggest wave reported at 2.3 meters. High waves hit parts of the Chilean coast within 45 minutes of the quake. Pisagua, Patache and Iquique all saw big waves.
Currently evacuations have been ordered in across Chile and Peru where sea waves were reported very high.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. Antofagasta -a port city in the country -has seen several tremors since the last quarter of last year. The world’s ten most earthquake prone countries are Soloman Islands, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fuji, New Zealand, U.S, Indonesia and Japan.
In February 2010, a powerful earthquake of 8.8 magnitude had hit the southern and central parts of Chile. This earthquake was followed by a tsunami which devasted the country and killed 526 people.
“Waves are formed as the displaced water mass, which acts under the influence of gravity, attempts to regain its equilibrium. When large areas of the sea floor elevate or subside, a tsunami can be created. Earthquakes which are effective in generating tsunamis are called subduction tsunamis”, says G.P Sharma of Skymet Meteorological Division.
While the world is busy reporting about today’s strong, earthquake in Chile, there are some other earthquakes that go unnoticed. Last evening a moderate intensity earthquake, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale was reported near Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh at 17:45. The epicenter of the quake was 36 km NNE of Hojai. No damage to life or property was reported since the intensity was mild.
Two of the strongest earthquakes in India reported in history have been in Gujarat and Kashmir in 2001 and 2005 respectively. The Gujarat earthquake measured 7.7 on the Richter scale, while in Kashmir it was reported to be 7.5.
“Predicting an earthquake and pinpointing the exact time and size of an earthquake is currently impossible. Scientists can only estimate the probability of an earthquake occurring in a region over a span of decades", says Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Meteorological Division.
“We have learned that predicting an earthquake is a tough nut to crack. To make the kind of accurate, short-term prediction for an earthquake, one would need to identify a reliable signal that a quake is coming. Until then, preparedness is our best defense”, says Jatin Singh CEO of Skymet Weather Services.
Photo by wikipedia.
