2007 Tocopilla earthquake

Tectonic summary

The USGS reported that the earthquake resulted from the release of stresses generated by the subduction of the oceanic Nazca plate beneath the South American plate. In this region, known as the Peru-Chile subduction zone, the Nazca plate thrusts beneath South America at a rate of approximately 79 mm/year in an east-north-east direction. This earthquake indicates subduction-related thrusting, likely on the interface between these two plates.

This earthquake occurred near (and within) the southern end of the rupture area of the great magnitude 9.1 earthquake of 1877, which produced a destructive tsunami and whose source region has since the late 1970s been recognized as a potentially dangerous seismic gap. In 1995, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred in the same subduction zone approximately 200 km further south of the November 14th event.

Damage and casualties

At least two deaths have been attributed to this earthquake: an 88-year-old woman crushed under a collapsing wall at Tocopilla, There were reports of several dozen road workers trapped inside a collapsed highway tunnel. Two hundred homes were destroyed by the shaking and up to 15,000 people were displaced. In Tocopilla alone, 1,000 homes were demolished, representing 30 percent of all standing structures.

References

References

1. "Fuerte sismo sacudió esta tarde al Norte del País".
2. (November 15, 2007). "Magnitude 6.8 - Antofagasta earthquake".
3. [http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/ NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center]
4. [http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/messages/pacific/2007/pacific.2007.11.14.165356.txt Cancellation bulletin] issued by the PTWC
5. [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0lyUZAnd-WZqnex4RvEPH2GsCjA Strong earthquake shakes northern Chile, kills at least two] {{webarchive. link. (2007-11-16 AFP news report)
6. [https://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2007/us2007jsat/#summary Magnitude 7.7 – ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE]
7. and a 54-year-old woman whose exact cause of death remains unknown. There were also reports of widespread power outages in the region, including the cities of [[Antofagasta]], [[Calama, Chile. Calama]] and [[Arica, Chile. Arica]]. The earthquake disrupted [[copper mining]] in the region; because Chile is the world's top supplier of copper, the earthquake caused prices of the metal to jump by more than six percent. [[Tin]] prices also rose four percent to reach a record high.[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22762597-20142,00.html Metals prices up after Chile quake] {{Webarchive. link. (2007-11-18 The Australian Business)
8. [http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200711151101/workers_trapped_in_tunnel_collapse_after_quakes Workers trapped in tunnel collapse after quakes] {{webarchive. link. (2012-02-07 , Radio New Zealand News)
9. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7096648.stm Chile rattled by big aftershocks], BBC News
10. ISC. (19 January 2015). "ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009)". [[International Seismological Centre]].
11. (September 4, 2009). "PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog". United States Geological Survey.
12. "M7.7 – Antofagasta, Chile". United States Geological Survey.