TORONTO – The magnitude-8.2 earthquake that struck off the shore of Chile Tuesday night is just one of over near 100 of magnitude-2.5 or higher that shook the region in the past month.
Before then, the strongest was a magnitude-6.7 on March 16. Since then, there have been several others magnitude-6.0 or higher.
Chile is no stranger to earthquakes: two of the strongest earthquakes the planet has seen occurred off the shore of Chile.
In 1960, the strongest earthquake ever recorded occurred on the same fault line as Tuesday’s massive tremor. The magnitude 9.5 earthquake killed 1,655 people, injured 3,000, and left over two million people homeless. The resulting tsunami killed 61 people in Hawaii, 138 in Japan, and 32 in the Philippines. Millions of dollars in damage was spread out over several countries.
Two days after that earthquake, the volcano Puyehue erupted, sending ash and steam up to 6000 m. The eruption lasted for several weeks.
After the massive earthquake in 1960, there were several powerful aftershocks, including a magnitude-7.9.
In light of the many earthquakes that have shaken the region over the past month, it is likely that the region will continue to see more.
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