2019 Coquimbo earthquake

Earthquake in Chile
mb(USGS)  5.1[2] [3] Casualties2 dead

The 2019 Coquimbo earthquake occurred 10 km south southwest of Coquimbo in Chile, on January 19, 2019 at 22:32 (local time). The epicenter was located off the coast of the Coquimbo Region at a depth of 63.0 km,[4]) and had a moment magnitude of 6.7.[5] On the Mercalli scale, the earthquake reached an intensity of VIII.[6]

Tectonic setting

Chile lies above the convergent plate boundary where the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate, at a location where they converge at a rate of seventy millimeters a year. This quake was an oceanic interplate type, occurred in the downgoing slab of the Nazca Plate and not on the interface between the two plates. This event took place under the area of Chile, between 27° and 33° S, where the slab is nearly horizontal and there is a high degree of mechanical coupling between the plates.

Damage and casualties

One hundred and eighty houses collapsed and moderate damage occurred in almost 500 structures in the historic center of Coquimbo and La Serena.[7] Cracks were reported in several houses, and some walls partially collapsed.[7] The Our Lady of Mercy Cathedral in La Serena also suffered minor damage.[7] Two people died of heart attacks. Power outages affected more than 200,000 households in the cities of Limari, La Serena, and Coquimbo.[8][9]

Modified Mercalli intensities in selected locations[10]
MMI Locations
VIII (Severe) Coquimbo, La Serena
VII (Very strong) Andacollo, Vicuña
VI (Strong) Freirina, Huasco, Vallenar, Combarbala, Illapel, La Higuera, Monte Patria, Ovalle, Punitaqui, Río Hurtado, Salamanca, Zapallar
V (Moderate) Alto del Carmen, Copiapo, Tierra Amarilla, Canela, Calera, Casablanca, La Cruz, Llaillay, Nogales, Olmue, Puchuncavi, Putaendo, Quillota, San Felipe, Santa Maria, Valparaiso, Villa Alemana, El Monte, Padre Hurtado, Peñaflor, Puente Alto, San Bernardo, Santiago, Talagante
IV (Light) Caldera, Chañaral, Diego de Almagro, Los Vilos, Quilpue, Las Cabras, Litueche, Mostazal, Navidad, Rancagua, San Fernando, Santa Cruz, Graneros, La Estrella
III (Weak) Algarrobo, Cartagena, El Quisco, El Tabo, San Antonio, Peralillo
II (Weak) Chimbarongo

See also

References

  1. ^ "Monitoreo por sismo de mayor intensidad entre las regiones de Atacama y O'Higgins" (in Spanish). ONEMI. 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  2. ^ "M 5.1 - 18 km S of Coquimbo, Chile". earthquake.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-03-12. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  3. ^ Angulo, Eél María (2019-01-21). "Chile: más de 60 réplicas tras sismo de magnitud 6,7" (in Spanish). France 24. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  4. ^ "M 6.7 - 10 km SSW of Coquimbo, Chile". earthquake.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  5. ^ "Informe de Sismo". www.sismologia.cl. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  6. ^ "Sismo de mayor intensidad entre las regiones de Atacama y O'Higgins". ONEMI: Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad Pública - (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  7. ^ a b c "Zwei Tote bei Erdbeben in Chile" [Two dead in earthquake in Chile]. erdbebennews.de (in German). 20 January 2019.
  8. ^ Parra, Matias; Retamal Navarro, Pablo (2019-01-19). "Director de la Onemi descarta riesgo de tsunami tras sismo en Coquimbo y explica alerta de evacuación". La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  9. ^ Farías Vega, Cristian (2019-01-22). "Columna de sismología: El potente terremoto de Coquimbo, su cronología, y por qué se sintió tan fuerte". La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  10. ^ "Sismo de mayor intensidad entre las regiones de Atacama y O'Higgins". ONEMI (in Spanish). 2019-01-19. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved 2022-03-11.

External links

  • The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.
  • "Sismo de mayor intensidad entre las regiones de Atacama y O'Higgins". ONEMI: Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad Pública - (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  • Compilations of videos that captured the moment the quake hit - Calma va a Pasar on Youtube
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  • indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year
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