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8.2 Earthquake Off the Coast of Chile, Tsunami Triggered

Posted by Soulskill on from the be-safe dept.

An 8.2-magnitude earthquake has struck roughly 60km off the cost of Chile. Its depth was approximately 20.1km. A tsunami has been generated, and evacuations have been ordered along the coast near the strike. Tsunami warnings were also issued for Peru and Ecuador. According to the Associated Press, "Coastal residents of northern Chile evacuated calmly as waves measuring almost 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) struck ahead of a tsunami that was expected to come ashore later. ... Chile's emergency service reported some roads blocked by landslides caused by the quake, but said no injuries had been reported so far."

40 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. How can different news sources by future+assassin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    get the magnitude wrong.

    7.7
    8.2
    8.0

    http://www.google.org/publical...

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/c...

    http://www.latimes.com/world/w...

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    1. Re:How can different news sources by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Most likely those are estimates based on the data available at each location. As time moves forward the magnitud will converge.

    2. Re:How can different news sources by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

      It might also be the race to get the information out.

      I don't know if USGS is involved in earthquakes off the coast of Chile, but I know that the USGS refines it's numbers over time. So you might hear about a 5.0 which turns into a 5.2 and then down to a 5.1. But in our info-driven got-to-have-the-news-now-and-damn-the-accuracy culture, timeliness is more important than accuracy. We don't like to wait for data.

      So instead of saying "Big Earthquake in Chile", they throw the number in. The number doesn't mean squat to most people, other than "7.7? Wow--that's pretty big."

    3. Re:How can different news sources by lesuth · · Score: 1
      Do not forget... USGS says 8.2.

      Noah out in theaters March 28th.

      Seriously, four days is NOT enough time.

    4. Re:How can different news sources by jrumney · · Score: 4, Informative

      Initial reports of earthquakes always have differing magnitudes, based on different data sources. It is only a couple of days later when all the data is analysed together that a consistent magnitude is agreed on.

    5. Re:How can different news sources by jrumney · · Score: 4, Interesting

      USGS is involved in all major earthquake measurement - the waves travel around the world in an earthquake of this size, and often the precise magnitude is more accurately determined at a distance.

  2. In all seriousness... by BronsCon · · Score: 1, Funny

    this is a major event... but I do have to point out how hilarious it would be if the tsunami decided to peter out a half mile from the shore, like Mother Nature's own little April Fools' joke.

    --
    APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    1. Re:In all seriousness... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Chile is in the southern hemisphere, it's actually October 1st there.

  3. Re:First! by Nimey · · Score: 2

    You should have used APK's hosts.txt.

    --
    Hail Eris, full of mischief...

    E pluribus sanguinem
  4. For Comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "The 8.0 earthquake that just hit Chile was 794 times bigger than the 5.1 we had in LA last week" (credit goes to @AndrewSiciliano)

    1. Re:For Comparison by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 2

      or 10 ^ (8 - 5.1)

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    2. Re:For Comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Once the magnitude of an earthquake has been worked up and agreed upon, it is roughly equivalent to the old Richer scale. The amplitude magnitude in Richer is a base-10 logarithm, but approximately base-31 for the energy. So the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Chile just experienced released about 20,000 more energy than the one LA last week. The source is the same as yours.

    3. Re:For Comparison by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      same A/C.

      pJ_LA = ( 10^(11.8 + 1.5*5.1) ) * 1e-07 * 1e-15
      pJ_LA = 0.00281838293126445

      pJ_Ch = ( 10^(11.8 + 1.5*8.2) ) * 1e-07 * 1e-15
      pJ_Ch = 125.892541179417

      25.892541179417 / 0.00281838293126445
      ans = 44668.3592150965

      So today's one was 44+ thousand times more energy than the LA quake last week.

      These big ones can even tilt the Earth on its axis.

  5. earthquakes here at home by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Posting from Chile here. Chile is an extremely seismic country. Construction codes and techniques require and plan for buildings to resist a 9.0 earthquake (by resist it's meant that no matter the damage to the building, even if it becomes uninhabitable, it should allow all the occupants to evacuate safely) and usually anything below 7.6 is not really reported as a major earthquake. In 2010 we had a major earthquake (8.8, 11th strongest in recorded history) and all the regions that had previously experienced a major quake (1985 in Santiago,1960 in Valdivia, and so on), and thus where rebuilt using the modern construction standards, experienced very little damage due to the quake itself. Of all people that where killed in 2010, less than 1000, most of them where due to the tsunami that ensued. The southern cities however where severely damaged as many homes where quite old and built using "adobe" mud bricks.
    The northern region that was hit today had already suffered two ~7.8 earthquakes in 2005 and 2007 and most of the construction was done using modern standards. The information is slowly coming in, but so far no casualties are reported. Right now all coastal cities have been evacuated as tsunami alarms where sounded, including massive SMS alerts and emergency alerts sent directly to Android phones.

    1. Re:earthquakes here at home by alex67500 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Right now all coastal cities have been evacuated as tsunami alarms where sounded, including massive SMS alerts and emergency alerts sent directly to Android phones.

      So iPhone users can die? Sounds like Chile is way more civilised than I thought ;-)

    2. Re:earthquakes here at home by Joey+Vegetables · · Score: 1

      Chile actually has, overall, one of the better economies in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere, although much of the development and wealth are concentrated in the central part of the country (Santiago and Valparaiso). I would assume that like almost every other part of the world, Android is much more dominant than iOS devices, which sell well only in the U.S. and a handful of other countries.

      --

      Nonaggression works!
    3. Re:earthquakes here at home by cusco · · Score: 1

      Keep in mind that the quake which devastated the libertarian Eden which is Haiti was a 7.0, so the 8.8 in Chile was 80 times more powerful. Over 300,000 dead in Haiti, less than a thousand in Chile.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  6. Re:Of course it was calm by mapuche · · Score: 2, Informative

    A beacon of democracy? Chile had at least 5 military internventions in the 20th century.

  7. Re:Of course it was calm by LavouraArcaica · · Score: 2, Informative

    how in the hell a flamebait like this is modded +5 Informative?

    And Chile is not a beacon of democracy: they had the worst dictatorship (and the longer) in the whole south america.
    Yes, they have a good rate of gdp/capita. But mostly because they are sitting on a giant copper mine.

  8. Re:Of course it was calm by flyingfsck · · Score: 2

    Not to mention that New Orleans should not be there any more. A new city was built a long time ago on the other side of the lake, but a few people insisted on not moving and rather getting flooded multiple times.

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  9. It's now the 21st century by dbIII · · Score: 2

    Pinochet has left the building.

    1. Re:It's now the 21st century by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That were removed long time ago. Maybe you should go and visit Chile from time to time.

  10. Re:Of course it was calm by Trogre · · Score: 1

    What the hell does George W. Bush have to do with South America?

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  11. "No injuries"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    From the fine article: "Officials reported two deaths and several serious injuries...". It's the first paragraph in the damn article.

    The summary is at best misleading, misquoting a paragraph discussing the *peruvian* injuries (of which there are none reported). Chilean injuries and deaths have occurred. ... but this is slashdot, where outright wrong summaries are the norm.

    1. Re:"No injuries"? by TapeCutter · · Score: 2
      Speaking of the fine summary, WTF has the surf report got to do with the tsunami?

      "waves measuring almost 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) struck ahead of a tsunami that was expected to come ashore later"

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    2. Re:"No injuries"? by laie_techie · · Score: 1

      From the fine article: "Officials reported two deaths and several serious injuries...". It's the first paragraph in the damn article.

      The latest news is that there have been 5 or 6 (depending on your news source) confirmed deaths.

  12. Wouldn't they be over 90 now? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    The world has moved on.

  13. Re:Of course it was calm by geekoid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nothing and neither does New Orleans, but some people are pretty clueless and feel the need to bring up there ignorant pet issues under the flimsiest of reasons.

    --
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  14. Re:Of course it was calm by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    The butterfly effect, of course!

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  15. Re:Of course it was calm by dbIII · · Score: 1

    A lot back in the day via utterly stupid foreign policy, but in the long run a lot less than his father and probably ignorable today.

  16. Earth Quake Video @ Super Market by www.nametagline.com · · Score: 1

    6 killed as huge 8.2 earthquake off Chile. Here is one of the Earth Quake video at Chile Super Market..BBC Broadcast this http://www.bbc.com/news/world-...

  17. Re:First! by InsectOverlord · · Score: 1

    What system uses a hosts.txt file? We're all familiar with the hosts (no .txt extension) file.

  18. Re:Chile worst dictatorship in South America? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

    Allende was a democratic elected president, you moron.

    --
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  19. Re:Chile worst dictatorship in South America? by mapuche · · Score: 1

    Well, this doesn't help with the point, Right? How Chile can be a beacon of democrac if it had a dictator after dictator? According to you words.

  20. Re:Of course it was calm by cusco · · Score: 1

    Perhaps you need to go study in Argentina for a while, your reading comprehension skills are abysmal.

    --
    "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  21. Re:Of course it was calm by cusco · · Score: 1

    Wow, even worse reading skills than I thought. ** I ** did not make the original post.

    --
    "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  22. Re:First! by rochrist · · Score: 1

    Wait....what?

  23. Re:Of course it was calm by Incadenza · · Score: 1

    Yes, they have a good rate of gdp/capita. But mostly because they are sitting on a giant copper mine.

    Don't forget that they are one of the rare SA countries were corruption doesn't mingly with businness, the Chilean corruption level is on par with the USA. Which means that the profits from these mines (and all other economic sectors) flow in the ecenomy (constructors, deliveries, hotels, etc.) instead of ending on some Swiss bank account.

  24. Re:Chile worst dictatorship in South America? by Incadenza · · Score: 1

    Hitler was never president. He lost the presidential elections of 1932 by a large margin to von Hindenburg. After von Hindeburg died (in 1934), Hitler abolished the presidency, and made himself head of state.

  25. Re:Chile worst dictatorship in South America? by blackraven14250 · · Score: 1

    No, he wasn't elected. He lost to von Hindenburg in the presidential elections, who later appointed him as chancellor. Meanwhile, the Reichstag switched to a largely Nazi composition due to success in elections, and passed a law (the Enabling Act) that gave Hitler the ability to pass laws without the Reichstag's approval. When von Hindenburg died, Hitler used the Enabling Act to merge von Hindenburg's former office with his own.

    The only way you can claim Hitler was "elected" is by indirectly having his cronies get elected.