2010 Pichilemu earthquakes
6.9 and 7.0 MW intraplate earthquakes 2010 in Chile / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A 6.9 earthquake occurred on March 11, 2010, 40 kilometers southwest of Pichilemu, O'Higgins Region, Chile .[2][3][4][5][6] A tsunami warning was made by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Pacific-wide, although they warned of the possibility of local tsunamis within 100 kilometers of the epicenter (between San Antonio and Concepción).[7]
UTC time | Doublet earthquake: |
---|---|
2010-03-11 14:39:43 | |
2010-03-11 14:55:27 | |
ISC event | |
14554049 | |
14400686 | |
USGS-ANSS | |
ComCat | |
ComCat | |
Local date | 11 March 2010 (2010-03-11) |
Local time | |
11:39 UTC-3 | |
11:55 UTC-3 | |
Magnitude | |
6.9 Mw 6.3 ML | |
7.0 Mw | |
Depth | 33.1 kilometres (20.6 mi) |
Epicenter | Pichilemu, Chile 34.301°S 72.13°W / -34.301; -72.13 |
Areas affected | Chile Argentina |
Max. intensity | MM X |
Peak acceleration | 0.086g (Curicó, Maule)[1] |
Tsunami | Yes |
Casualties | 1 killed |
Although news media first reported the earthquake as an aftershock of the February earthquake,[5][8] the initial geological summary given by the United States Geological Survey [9] said it was a different earthquake. Though unchained by the regional stress caused by the February 27 earthquake, the March event was not a fast adjustment to February's thrust fault rupture between the Nazca and South American plates, but it was caused by normal faulting inside one of those plates. However, it has not been positively decided in which plate the earthquake occurred.
Within 6 hours, 10 aftershocks took place, of these 2 were of magnitude 6 or greater and 7 between magnitude 5 and 6.[10]
The earthquake took place shortly before the new president, Sebastián Piñera, was sworn in, at about 12:15 PM local time (15:15 UTC), at the Chilean congress in Valparaíso, where the shaking was clearly felt. The presidents of Bolivia, Paraguay, and Ecuador were present when the earthquake occurred, however, the television footage showed that the inauguration was not interrupted.[11]
Damage reported by the Chilean news media include a collapsed pedestrian crossing over Chile Highway 5, north of Rancagua.[12] The most affected place by the earthquake was Pichilemu, the epicentre of the earthquake. It destroyed the Ross Park, most of the Agustín Ross Cultural Centre and many houses in Espinillo and Rodeillo.[13]