MAJOR EARTHQUAKE HITS THE ATACAMA DESERT

Yesterday morning, Northern Chile was rocked by a major 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The fact that the epicenter was located some 37 miles below the surface limited the destructive effects of the quake to some extent, although least two deaths (both in the coastal city of Tocopilla) and significant property damage (in the cities of Tocopilla, Arica, Antofagasta and Calama) have been reported.





The accompanying maps come from the USGS, and give much better detail than the fuzzy-pixeled versions one finds attached to most of the web news reports of the incident. Please click on the images to see the full-size versions. The first one illustrates the relative location of the quake epicenter while the second map presents an image of the varying intensity of the shock
within the general region.



From the first map, one can get a general idea of how volatile
the area is by observing the incredible number of volcanoes
that run the length of the Andean cordillera in this part of
South America.


The link to the USGS website which I have included below will give you a general overview of the quake and its effects. If you go to the site, click on "Summary" for a report of the quake and the relative rankings of the intensity level of the shocks reported from different locations in this part of South America.

Now, this new earthquake instantly becomes a factor for me in this trip I will be taking in literally a few days because it happened right where I will be going. Of course I expect that there will be travel disruptions, and I would not be surprised if there will be parts of the highway that will have been busted up by the tremors, and there will also be the possibility that basic services I would normally expect to depend on might not be available. No doubt the relief efforts directed toward the victims who were injured or who lost their homes will also be clearly evident. As I understand, some 1000 homes in Tocopilla alone were destroyed yesterday, which meant that thousands of residents slept out on the streets last night. Accomodations in the cities might be at a premium, so I will possibly be camping out a lot more than I had planned during my time in this part of Chile

But considering the offhand chance that there might be another major seismic event during this period I might reconsider my plans to camp on the shores of the Pacific at Los Hornitos, north of Antofagasta. I'd camped there in January 2006 and didn't think a thing about it, but now I have a nagging apprehension tugging on my mind about the possibility (albeit remote) of being washed out to sea by a tsunami...

Anyway, this earthquake will no doubt cause me to pause and to reflect on the mysterious forces of nature at work on this earth, and what their potential consequences are for us, the inhabitants. So here is the link to the USGS site. Remember to click on the "Summary" to read more...


http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2007jsat.php#details