The Earthquake Beyond Chile

Our colleague Christian Quintero of Planeta UFO sent us a report on the Chilean Earthquake, dealing with the impact of this seismic event beyond that country's borders:

"In Perú, Walter Flores, Chief of the Navy's Department of Oceanography, reported that the sea withdrew approximately 150 meters (300 feet approx.) from the coast of the Cerro Azul recreation area in Cañete (Peru), but assured the population that fluctuations resulting from the normalization of the water level would not result in large waves. Moreover, the Chief of the Port Authority for Southern Peru ordered the preventive closure of the beaches at Naplo and Pucusana after abnormal tides were detected.

"Going back to the earthquake, last night's earthquake in Chile had smaller aftershocks in vast areas of Argentina, mainly spreading through the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan (the ones nearest the epicenter)although it was also felt in Patagonia and the provinces of Cordoba and Buenos Aires. The Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, some 2600 kilometers from Santiago de Chile, reported having felt the seismic activity.

"This morning (Feb 28 '10) the were also tremors in the vicinity of Ica (Peru) and around noon in the Argentinean provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Tucuman. The earthquakes in Argentina measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, with an epicenter some 15 kilometers away from the city of Salta, produced by a geological fault originating in said province and which extends into Bolivia. Fortunately, there were no considerable material damages to report in Argentina. However, a tragic death occurred: a wall in La Merced (Salta) collapsed and killed a child.

"After 13:00 hours, the authorities of Salta's Cathedral were forced to open their doors beyond normal hours to allow the entry of hundreds of local residents to came to pray to la Virgen del Milagro (Our Lady of the Miracle), the city's traditional protector against earthquakes. At 17:35 hours, residents of Salta's surrounding valleys reported new seismic activity in Cerrillos, Campo Quijano and Rosario de Lerma, although not as intense as the event reported earlier that day."

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Christian Quintero)