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During the early hours of this Tuesday, a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.0 shook the northern part of the country, generating more than 90 aftershocks and much concern among the inhabitants of the Atacama region.
Geographer Marcelo lagos analyzed this situation in 24 Hours Central. In this regard, he commented that “the earthquake this morning occurs in a segment of Chilean territory where an earthquake has not occurred in a long time.”
Therefore, Lagos assures that we are facing a “mature” area, that is, a geographic sector where seismic activity has not occurred in a long time, and therefore could occur.
ARE WE FACING A SEISMIC SWARM?
The Atacama region is an area where almost a century ago, in 1922, a great earthquake was registered, especially in the Vallenar area, belonging to the Huasco province.
: Marcelo Lagos analyzes the San Ramón fault and its effects on MRI Read more%2021.55.38.png "Marcelo Lagos analyzes the San Ramón fault and its effects on MRI")
Despite the string of earthquakes that occurred during the last hours, Lagos rules out that it is a “seismic swarm” and explains why: “A swarm is explained when, in a very defined and confined geographic area, numerous events of similar characteristics occur where I cannot differentiate which one is more important than another. That is generally called a swarm (…) There is a clearly different event here. The largest, the main one of magnitude 7.0, and then numerous aftershocks that have been very frequent during the last hours”.
For the expert, it is important “to look carefully at this process, if it ends there or is the beginning of something.”
MORE THAN 9 THOUSAND HOUSES EXPOSED TO A TSUNAMI
A factor of concern to consider, according to Lagos, are the almost 9,000 houses that were irregularly installed in a coastal sector of Atacama that appears as flooding: the province of Huasco.
: Follow-up of earthquakes in Farellones: Marcelo Lagos explains the reasons and if it has a connection with the San Ramón fault Read more%2022.09.45.png "Follow-up of earthquakes in Farellones: Marcelo Lagos explains the reasons and if it has a connection with the San Ramón fault")
“The irregular settlement of the fiscal coast of Atacama has had an exceptional growth, almost exponential in recent years and that in some way they are second residences for rest,” explains the academic. “From the moment that they are irregular shots, the location of the houses in some places are widely exposed. In the scenario of a great earthquake on the Atacama coast, with a relevant tsunami, the exposure levels, but particularly of houses exposed to flooding They arise as a real problem that at some point will have to be looked at head-on, “he adds.
Given this, he poses as a difficulty that “generally these irregular seizures, over time, are transformed into formal settlements.” Therefore, it makes a direct call to the authorities to “take charge of supervising and preventing the continued increase in this sustained level of exposure on the Atacama coast.”
To exemplify the risks to which people living in these areas are exposed, Lagos exposes what happened to the tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011, where 23 hours later numerous houses in the coastal town of Puerto Viejo, in the commune Caldera, were flooded.
“Here events over 8 could occur, without any problem. The flood could reach 10 meters or higher without any problem”, warns the expert.
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