The earthquake took place 216 kilometers northeast of the Chilean base of O'higgins, where the authorities asked to evacuate the beach areas
An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale shook Antarctica this Saturday, prompting Chilean authorities to issue an emergency alert and ask citizens to leave the region's beaches due to the risk of a tsunami.
The National Emergency Office (Onemi) explained that the earthquake took place 216 kilometers northeast of the O'higgins base , the largest that Chile has on the frozen continent, at 8:36 p.m. (23:36 GMT), at a depth of 10 km.
Chile's Onemi lifted the evacuation alert after canceling the tsunami threat due to the 7.1-magnitude earthquake registered on Saturday night near Antarctic bases.
“#SHOA (Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy) totally cancels the Tsunami Precautionary State. For its part, Onemi cancels evacuation due to tsunami in the coastal sectors of the Antarctic territory, ”said a statement from Onemi on its Twitter account.
“According to the Tsunami Threat established for the Antarctic territory by the states established by #SHOA, the estimated time of arrival would be the following. ANTARTICA, BASE PRAT 01-23-2021 21:17 ″, reported Onemi through Twitter.
 |
| The Chilean base of O'higgins |
The Eduardo Frei Base of the Chilean Air Force is located 1,230 km south of the continent, on King George Island. It is the largest Chilean base in this territory which also includes Villa Las Estrellas, a hospital, a school, a bank, a small supermarket, a post office and a chapel, among other services.
The maximum population in summer is 150 people, and the average population in winter is 80.
At the same time, at 9:07 pm (00:07 GMT) another earthquake of magnitude 5.9 occurred in Santiago that was not related to the strong earthquake in Antarctica, but which was felt in Chile and in some cities in Argentina.
The earthquake was registered in the middle of the sea, about 210 km east of the Eduardo Frei Base, at a depth of 10 km, indicated Onemi, which minutes later asked to "leave the beach area of the Antarctic territory" before the possible arrival of a tsunami.
At the moment, the authorities did not report material damage or injuries as a result of the movements, although it generated alarm among the population. Onemi said that the earthquake in the central area did not meet the conditions for a tsunami.
In addition, he clarified that a message that reached cell phones in various parts of the country referred only to the Antarctic area minutes before the earthquake in the center of the territory.
Onemi indicated that in this case "no damage to people, alteration to basic services or infrastructure resulting from this earthquake are reported" and that "technical organizations are evaluating the regional situation."
Chile, one of the most seismic countries in the world, suffered a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake in the city of Concepción on February 27, 2010, which left more than 500 dead.
Sixty years ago, this country suffered the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, measuring a magnitude of 9.6, in the city of Valdivia, in southern Chile.
0 Comments