2010 Pichilemu earthquake

Template: Infobox earthquake / Maintenance / tsunami missing template: Infobox earthquake / Maintenance / injured missing template: Infobox earthquake / maintenance / property missing

( 40 km southwest of Pichilemu )

• Pichilemu
• Santa Cruz
• Valparaíso

Destroyed balustrades at the Ross Park, Pichilemu

The earthquake in Pichilemu 2010 was a major earthquake with magnitude 6.9 Mw and occurred on 11 March 2010. The epicenter was about 40 km southwest of Pichilemu in the O'Higgins Región de Chile.

History and circumstances of the quake

Shortly after the devastating earthquake of 27 February, the middle of Chile was again shaken on 11 March 2010 by several severe quakes that were from the U.S. seismological ( NEIC ) measured with thicknesses from 4.9 to 6.9. After the recent earthquake, which occurred at noon during the inauguration of the new Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, the Chilean authorities broke precaution of a tsunami warning. The epicenter of the three most violent earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.9, 6.7 and 6.0 was on the coast of VI. Region ( Libertador O'Higgins ), approximately 40 km southwest of Pichilemu and about 140 km south of the city of Valparaíso, where the festivities taking place at the handover. People in Valparaíso and other coastal towns fled for fear of a tidal wave on high ground.

Although the epicenter of the earthquake was in the sea, not a general warning was issued before a tsunami by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. However, the warning center pointed out that the possibility of local tsunamis in the area between La Serena and Concepción was.

The inauguration ceremony of the new President Piñera front of the building of the Chilean Congress in Valparaiso was how the television broadcast showed continued as planned despite the scheduled shortly before the clock for 12:15 local time ( 15:15 UTC clock ) Swearing noticeable quake.

Background and tectonics

Although the media have described the earthquake as many aftershocks of the great earthquake of 27 February 2010 judged the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake in his preliminary geological assessment as a separate event. Although the quake was caused on 11 March by the regional tensions caused by the earthquake of 27 February, but it was not a direct consequence of the thrust between the South American plate and the Nazca plate, but was caused by normal faults in one of these plates. In the region around Pichilemu 10,000 aftershocks have been located, they are in all depth ranges between 5 km and the plate boundary of the South American plate and the Nazca plate is 25 km and thus in the South American Plate. These aftershocks found on a south-west incident surface and instead show mainly extensional earthquake mechanisms at ..

Damage

The most affected site was Pichilemu, close to the epicenter of the earthquake. Damaged were the historically important parks of the Parque Agustín Ross and part of the adjacent monument Ross Casino and many houses in the districts Espinillo and Rodeíllo. Due to the impact of the earthquake, two people were killed: One person came in Pichilemu to death and a man died in Talca during the earthquake of heart failure.

Aftershocks

Within the next six hours, there were ten aftershocks, two of which reached an intensity of 6.0 or higher on the moment magnitude scale and the remaining seven were between 5.0 and 6.0. During the next four days there have been numerous aftershocks with an intensity of up to 5.0 Mw. A total of 10,000 aftershocks have been registered with Magntiduen 1 to 5.7 in the region of Pichilemu.