Great Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Six Earthquakes Rock Chile Early Saturday
SANTIAGO - A chain of six tremors has rocked central and southern Chile
early Saturday morning in the same areas hit in February by the massive
8.8-magnitude earthquake.
The strongest quake, of 5.7-magnitude, was recorded at 2:58 a.m. and
had its epicenter in the sea, 25 kilometers from the city of Lebu, in
Bío Bío, according to the University of Chile Seismology Service.
The other quakes were felt at 00:45 a.m., 2:45 a.m., 4:48 a.m., and
05:06 a.m., all perceptible in Maule, Bío Bío and Araucanía.
The last tremor was recorded at 7:58 a.m. and was also felt in the
central region of O'Higgins.
Diana Comte, an expert from the university's Mathematics and Geophysics
Department, said the six tremors were aftershocks of the massive
February 27 quake.
Potential massive events cannot be ruled out, such as a seaquake, Comte
said.
Chile is located in the circum-Pacific Ring of Fire, or seismic belt,
and among countries with Pacific coasts, it has the most volcanic
eruptions and numerous sea and earthquakes, resulting from the rupture
of geological faults and the movement and collision of tectonic plates.
Therefore, the Ring of Fire region endures 80 percent of the world's
most devastating earthquakes.