The earthquake occurred this Saturday in the north of the country.
A tremor occurred during the early morning this Saturday, June 29 in the northern part of the country.
According to the Seismology Center of the University of Chile, preliminarily, The magnitude of the earthquake was 5.0.
The epicenter would have been located at 32 kilometers northeast of Caleta el Cobre, in the Antofagasta Region.
Subsequently, the national organization reported that the earthquake that occurred at 00:21 this morning had a magnitude of 5.0 and the epicenter was located 38.98 kilometers southeast of Antofagasta, Antofagasta region.
In this regard, SHOA indicated that The characteristics of the earthquake do not meet the necessary conditions to generate a tsunami on the coasts of Chile.
The magnitude and intensity of an earthquake are not the same
As described by the CSN, an earthquake, tremor or earthquake is the process of generating elastic waves and their subsequent propagation through the interior of the Earth. When they reach the Earth’s surface, these waves produce movement and vibration of the ground.
They also contribute that in Chile, the term Earthquake is used for an earthquake that generates structural damage, that is, one that is reported with Intensity on the Modified Mercalli Scale with grade VII or higher.
It is easy to get confused, since both concepts are related, but magnitude and intensity are not equivalent.
Magnitude is a measure of the size of a tremor that is related to the amount of energy released in the form of elastic waves. The value is unique for each seismic event.
Intensity, on the other hand, measures the effects of a given event on people, animals, structures and terrain. In Chile, the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (NCh3 of.61) is used; intensity values are denoted with Roman numerals that classify seismic effects with twelve ascending levels in severity. The intensity not only depends on the size of the earthquake (magnitude) and the strength of the earthquake (acceleration), but also on the epicentral distance, the local geology, the nature of the terrain and the type of constructions in the place. For the same tremor, several intensities are usually reported, which, in general, decrease as the epicentral distance increases.
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