1985 Pichilemu earthquake

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1985 Pichilemu earthquake

Shakemap of the 1985 Pichilemu earthquake.
Date 21:56:59, 8 April 1985 (UTC-4) (1985-04-08T21:56:59UTC-4)
Magnitude 7.5 Mw[1]
Depth 37.8 km (23 mi)[2]
Epicenter Pichilemu, Chile
34°04′51.96″S 71°39′39.86″W / 34.0811000°S 71.6610722°W / -34.0811000; -71.6610722Coordinates: 34°04′51.96″S 71°39′39.86″W / 34.0811000°S 71.6610722°W / -34.0811000; -71.6610722
Countries or regions  Chile,  Argentina
Max. intensity MM VII
Tsunami No
Casualties 2 killed

The 1985 Pichilemu earthquake, also known locally as the Rapel Lake earthquake, was a 7.5[1] magnitude earthquake that occurred 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Pichilemu, O'Higgins Region, Chile[3] on April 8, 1985[4] at 21:56:59 local time (01:56:59 UTC) at a depth of 37.8 km (23 mi).[2][5]

Background

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake was registered on March 3, 1985 offshore Valparaíso, Valparaíso Region.[1] It reached a maximum intensity of XI on the Mercalli intensity scale. 177 people were killed, 2,575 injured, 142,489 houses were damaged and about a million people were left homeless.[6] There was a long interruption on basic services, and the damage provoked by that earthquake was estimated to be more than 1,046 million US dollars.[7]

The April 9, 1985 Pichilemu earthquake occurred in the same fault area as the 2010 Pichilemu earthquake, and is considered by University of Chile Seismological Service a thrust fault-type interplate earthquake.[8]

Damage and effects

Two people died of heart attacks after the earthquake; one in Santiago and another in Chillán.[2][5] The earthquake lasted approximately three minutes according to The New York Times.[5]

It created damage in addition to that already caused by March 3 earthquake in the Santiago-Valparaíso area.[2]

The earthquake, measured in the Modified Mercalli intensity, reached magnitude VI in Curacaví, La Calera, Los Andes, Peñaflor, San Antonio, Valparaíso, and Viña del Mar; and magnitude V-VI in Concón, Constitución, Curicó, La Ligua, Melipilla, Papudo, Pichilemu, Puchuncaví, Quilpué, and Villa Alemana.[3] The earthquake was felt throughout much of central Chile from La Serena to Osorno. It was also felt in Mendoza, San Juan, San Luis, Córdoba, Tucumán, and Santa Fe provinces in Argentina.[2]

Although it has been considered by the news media as an aftershock of the main Santiago earthquake,[8] according to Rosa Urrutia de Hazbún and Carlos Lanza Lazcano's book Catástrofes en Chile 1541–1992, the Pichilemu earthquake was a different and separate event.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "SISMOS IMPORTANTES Y/O DESTRUCTIVOS (1570 - Mayo 2005)" (in Spanish). Sismología Universidad de Chile. Archived from the original on 31 December 2006. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Historic Earthquakes". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sismo del 8 de abril de 1985 (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: University of Chile Geological Service. 1985. 
  4. ↑ Luis Valenzuela (April 14, 2010). "Planificación Urbana en Zonas de Riesgo" (in Spanish). Universidad Católica de Chile. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2010. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 AP (April 8, 1985). "Strong quake jolts Chile". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2010. 
  6. ↑ "Terremoto de 1985" (in Spanish). Angelfire. Archived from the original on 4 August 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Grandes Terremotos en Chile". El Mercurio (Santiago de Chile). Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2010. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Estudio comparativo de los terremotos de subducción chilenos con los terremotos de subducción del norte, centro y sur de América" (in Spanish). Concepción, Chile: University of Chile Seismological Service. November 16–19, 2005. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2010. 
  9. ↑ Urrutia de Hazbún, Rosa; Lanza Lazcano, Carlos (1993). Catástrofes en Chile, 1541–1992 (in Spanish). Santiago de Chile: Editorial La Noria. Retrieved 13 September 2010. 
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