Earthquake Triggers Evacuations in Chile
September 17, 2015
On Wednesday, September 16, an 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck Chile. The epicenter of the quake was in a small town some 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of the capital of Santiago, but it was felt more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away in Brazil. At least 10 people in Chile were killed by the quake.
Around one million people in Chile have been evacuated from their homes and nearly 250,000 people are without electric power. Many of the evacuations were the result of a tsunami warning. A tsunami is a series of powerful ocean waves produced by an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, or asteroid impact. Tsunami waves can travel great distances and still keep much of their destructive force. They differ from common ocean waves, which are caused by wind.
Waves in certain coastal areas of Chile, for example, Coquimbo, near Valparaiso, reached 15 feet (4.7 meters). Tsunami warnings for the U.S. state of California and for New Zealand were also issued based on the quake. Thus far, the tsunami waves that hit the U.S. coasts of California and Hawaii have been small—nothing higher than 3 feet (0.9 meter). Waves of that size present no danger to those on land but can be a danger for boaters and swimmers. The tsunami warning for Chile was lifted this morning.
This is the third major earthquake to hit Chile in the last five years, so its people in coastal areas know to head for high ground as soon as they are able after an earthquake. Chile is a very seismically active area (prone to earthquakes). The coast of Chile is on the border of two tectonic plates—the Nazca and South America plates. The Nazca Plate moves under the South American Plate; in some places, it slips under easily. In other places, the plates get caught. When they finally break free and move, it is very sudden, and the energy released leads to powerful earthquakes.
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