A very powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake shook Chile’s capital Santiago today at 3:54pm PST that was centered 141 miles northwest of Santiago. A tsunami warning was issued for the coast of Chile. It’s feared that large tsunami waves could hit the Chilean coastline during the next several hours.
Some are reporting that this earthquake was 2 minutes long. That’ a very long earthquake.
The ski resorts of Central Chile:Â Portillo, La Parva, El Colorado, Valle Nevado, and Ski Arpa must have gotten rocked!
A tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii. Estimated arrival time for tsunami waves in Hawaii is 2:58am Thursday local time.
If you’re surfing in Chile or Hawaii or you’re anywhere near the coast, please get away from the beach and onto high ground. The Chilean government is urging residents to evacuate coastal areas.
According to the USGS, the earthquake occurred 4.8 miles below the earth’s surface.
Reuters is reporting that the earthquake was felt as far away as Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the opposite side of the continent.
Damage reports are yet to come in but there are reports of swaying buildings and debris in the streets in Santiago.
In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Chile and killed more than 500 people and destroyed over 220,000 homes. A tsunami from that earthquake devastated southern Chile including some amazing surf spots. That earthquake was so strong, it shortened Earth’s day by a fraction of a second by changing the planet’s rotation. Damn…
Chile is one of Earth’s most earthquake-prone countries due to the Nazca tectonic plate plunging beneath the South America plate just off the coast of Chile. This tectonic plate interaction is pushing the Andes mountain range even higher every year.
The strongest earthquake ever recorded was in Chile in 1960. It was a 9.5-magnitude quake that killed over 5,000 humans. Since 1973, Chile has had more than a dozen quakes of magnitude-7.0 and above.
