A strong earthquake of magnitude 8.3 occured in the vicinity of Santiago, the capital city of Chile, on 16th April at 7:54 PM.
Because of the earthquake, the entire coastal area of Chile and the neighbouring country Peru , has been issued Tsunami warning and an advisory has been issued in Hawai, US. Also, the buildings of the Santiago city has were strongly shaken because of which thousands of fear-stricken citizens rushed out to the street, evacuating their houses, which caused a huge chaos.
The Chilean government revealed that due to the unstable condition of communication services in that area, the details of injuries and damages cannot be reported yet.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially announced the magnitude of the earthquake to be at 7.9 but they immediately upgraded it to magnitude 8.3.
According to USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake is located in the coast of Pacific Ocean which is 228 km away from north-west of Santiago and the focus is about 5 km deep.
The University of Chile has estimated the epicenter of the earthquake to be at 500 km north of Santiago and the depth of the seismic activity to be around 11 Km.
Strong vibrations were also felt in the city of Argentina - Buenos Aires which is 1,400 km away from Chile.
At least two strong aftershocks of magnitude more than 6.0 were reported few minutes after the earthquake .The Chilen government issued an evacuation order for the people of the coastal area stating that Tsunami caused due to the earthquake could hit the coastal area at around 11 PM.
Chile experiences frequent earthquake because of its location in high seismic zone of the Pacific Rim which is also known as “The Ring of Fire”. Last time, in 1960, more than 5000 people were killed in the central part of Chile due to the earthquake of magnitude 9.5 and recently in February 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 hit Chile .
Because of the earthquake, the entire coastal area of Chile and the neighbouring country Peru , has been issued Tsunami warning and an advisory has been issued in Hawai, US. Also, the buildings of the Santiago city has were strongly shaken because of which thousands of fear-stricken citizens rushed out to the street, evacuating their houses, which caused a huge chaos.
The Chilean government revealed that due to the unstable condition of communication services in that area, the details of injuries and damages cannot be reported yet.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially announced the magnitude of the earthquake to be at 7.9 but they immediately upgraded it to magnitude 8.3.
According to USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake is located in the coast of Pacific Ocean which is 228 km away from north-west of Santiago and the focus is about 5 km deep.
The University of Chile has estimated the epicenter of the earthquake to be at 500 km north of Santiago and the depth of the seismic activity to be around 11 Km.
Strong vibrations were also felt in the city of Argentina - Buenos Aires which is 1,400 km away from Chile.
At least two strong aftershocks of magnitude more than 6.0 were reported few minutes after the earthquake .The Chilen government issued an evacuation order for the people of the coastal area stating that Tsunami caused due to the earthquake could hit the coastal area at around 11 PM.
Chile experiences frequent earthquake because of its location in high seismic zone of the Pacific Rim which is also known as “The Ring of Fire”. Last time, in 1960, more than 5000 people were killed in the central part of Chile due to the earthquake of magnitude 9.5 and recently in February 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 hit Chile .
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