CHILE-TREMORS Almost five years after Chile's historic earthquake, a series of minor earthquakes rattle nerves

Record ID: 367347

  • Title: CHILE-TREMORS Almost five years after Chile's historic earthquake, a series of minor earthquakes rattle nerves
  • Date: 27th January 2015
  • Summary: CONCEPCION, CHILE (FILE - FEBRUARY, 2010) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COLLAPSED BUILDING IN ALTO BIO BIO COMMUNITY
  • Embargoed: 11th February 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Chile
  • Country: Chile
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5OZF246D0H8J0MK1P3HANZMA6
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    An unusually large number of tremors, nearly five years after Chile's devastating 2010 earthquake, unnerved local residents in the central city of Concepcion on Tuesday (January 27).
    Living in one of the world's most earthquake-prone zones, Chileans are accustomed to the regular shocks that ripple through their country.
    Dozens of vibrations were detected at dawn. The strongest of 4.8 in magnitude, struck the region at 2:27 a.m. (0558 GMT). The epicentre was located 50 kilometres (31 miles) northwest of Lota at a depth of 10.9 kilometres (6.7 miles) in the sea.
    Residents in Concepcion, one of Chile's largest cities with around 670,000 inhabitants, said the tremors brought back terrible memories.
    "What I experienced (during 2010 Chile earthquake) was the noise it made as it left the sea. That sensation stayed with me and now any noise reminds me," said an unidentified resident.
    "I felt one quite late, at around 2:00 (a.m.) more or less. I was falling asleep and everything moved," added another unidentified resident.
    This unidentified resident said the tremors were quite strong.
    "It was quite strong. Because I had to call my husband just in case another came along. I slept with my clothes on because they petrify me."
    The director of Chile's emergency office Onemi in the Bio-Bio region, Andrea Aravena, called for calm.
    "First of all, a call to the community for calm. This is normal in our country, to have smaller magnitude earthquakes and therefore, what we do is always be prepared and have this serve as a reminder with regards to the country we live in," she said.
    There were no reports of any structural damage, Onemi said. Quakes are common in Chile, the world's top copper producer, and its infrastructure is designed to withstand strong tremors.
    The 2010 earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated central Chile was a magnitude 8.8, while in 1960 southern Chile was hit by a 9.5 quake, the biggest in modern history.
    An apartment block with up to 200 people inside collapsed in Concepcion, the closest major city to the epicentre, in 2010.
    Jorge Quezada, a geologist from the department of earth sciences at the University of Concepcion said these movements were late aftershocks of the 2010 earthquake.
    "The (tectonic) plates have been activated and are adjusting, they are settling in after the earthquake (2010) and it's a process that takes years, it's not immediate," he said.
    During the massive 2010 earthquake, buildings caught fire, bridges collapsed and debris blocked streets across swathes of central Chile.
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