Chile Could Be Facing Large Quake and Tsunami- Two 6.9's Have Hit Already

Dangerous seismicity has occurred again in Chile. This time two 6.9 earthquakes have hit rather shallow at default depths of 10 km, but out at sea aways. No reports of major damage from these two- yet. They both occurred within about an hour or so of each other.

1:
earthquake.usgs.gov...
2:
earthquake.usgs.gov...

But it is what could be coming that worries me for them. We have seen this before, that when two quakes this large occur in the same area, and have such a close magnitude, in this case identical magnitudes- then the chances of them being foreshocks increase somewhat.

Let's hope not for them, but given the large magnitudes of these two, and such close proximity in location and time, had to sound the alert. Lookout down there for an 8+, along with another tsunami.

I have Chile dialed up in my rig, and no question the fault is agitated- smaller quakes are occurring literally one after the other, though many are not reported due to the 4.5 mag lower limit at USGS for international quakes. I have seen the raw seismic data on the two 6.9's, so I have a measuring stick so to speak if a bigger one occurs.

Thanks for all you do on this subject TrueAmerican.

Fingers and toes crossed along with thoughts and prayers for the people of Chile tonight. One can only hope that this is not ringing in something far more deadly for them.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

I absolutely appreciate your concern, as I have a LOT of family living in Chile.

For the past.... forever... Chile has had earthquakes of various magnitudes. It's one of those things that is always in the back of my mind but at the same time I always remind myself that over the decades Chile has broken the mold of a lot of other South American countries and truly is "prepared" (as much as any nation can be... and that extends beyond earthquake preparedness).

Remember the last big one... a few years ago...? Although a lot of offers of help were made from other countries, none were needed.

Again, I do worry about Chile on a very personal level.... and I personally appreciate your concerns too... Here's to hoping for the best.

a reply to: Kangaruex4Ewe

Thanks!

Well it is possible these could be aftershocks from the more recent 8+. It just doesn't "feel" like it to me in this case. Remember that 8+ had its own set of aftershocks which eventually died down. If it had been just ONE 6.9 now, I could see it- aftershocks from great quakes can go on for years. But there have been two 6.9's, and each of these has its own set of aftershocks associated with them. And they have occurred too close together in time, and in a slightly different area than the 8+. This is why in this case I believe this is new activity. But that's just my opinion. As always, I hope I am dead wrong.

Hope everyone ends up being ok and no one get's hurt. But at the same time, It's all very exciting. Has a Tsunami warning been issued yet?

a reply to: TrueAmerican

Wow, just saw the alerts come on emails and I was thinking the same quake, just got twice the email.

But thanks for sharing your insights, the last 8+ mag was only months ago, can you say how often is this kind of hugh quakes especially 6 above quakes in that same area in space of months and a double whammy hours apart?

Thanks

I had a feeling you were watching when I saw those earlier

I've got GEE fired up, checking in every 15 or so to watch the area. Actually, watching the whole Pacific Rim, just on the off-chance all that activity leads to something elsewhere.

a reply to: eluryh22

Yes, Chile has made good progress in preparation, and no telling how many lives have already been saved because of it.

Word has it that a small tsunami was sighted, but that is as of yet unconfirmed. 6.9's usually aren't strong enough to generate a tsunami of any size worth mentioning (maybe a couple of cm's high, and not enough usually to even cause flooding.) Generally speaking, it takes an 8+, and usually 8.4+, for the warnings to go out.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

A tsunami is coming

originally posted by: InnerPeace2012
a reply to: TrueAmerican

Wow, just saw the alerts come on emails and I was thinking the same quake, just got twice the email.

But thanks for sharing your insights, the last 8+ mag was only months ago, can you say how often is this kind of hugh quakes especially 6 above quakes in that same area in space of months and a double whammy hours apart?

Thanks

Nope, I have seen the seismic data myself, and it is DEFINITELY two separate quakes, so there is no mistake there.

As to how often, well, this is Chile, and big quakes are a given there. They occur with regularity. But it is the patterns of them, location, magnitude, and time apart that bear watching in this case.

I might remind everyone of the precedent for foreshocks here. And it's a pretty big precedent, considering it concerns the largest earthquake ever recorded at 9.5 in Chile in 1960. Just prior to that mega quake, they had two or three 8+ quakes. Pretty scary. That's why the concern here when the fault acts up in this manner.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican

originally posted by: InnerPeace2012
a reply to: TrueAmerican

Wow, just saw the alerts come on emails and I was thinking the same quake, just got twice the email.

But thanks for sharing your insights, the last 8+ mag was only months ago, can you say how often is this kind of hugh quakes especially 6 above quakes in that same area in space of months and a double whammy hours apart?

Thanks

Nope, I have seen the seismic data myself, and it is DEFINITELY two separate quakes, so there is no mistake there.

As to how often, well, this is Chile, and big quakes are a given there. They occur with regularity. But it is the patterns of them, location, magnitude, and time apart that bear watching in this case.

I might remind everyone of the precedent for foreshocks here. And it's a pretty big precedent, considering it concerns the largest earthquake ever recorded at 9.5 in Chile in 1960. Just prior to that mega quake, they had two or three 8+ quakes. Pretty scary. That's why the concern here when the fault acts up in this manner.

I've got the Chile TV News channel on at the moment ($7.00 extra a month to put an exclamation point on it) and nothing is mentioned.

Clearly you have studied this stuff globally... any prediction? (Don't worry... I'm not going to hold you to it just asking out of curiosity). Should I be a little extra worried over the next 24 - 48 hours about my friends/family...?

originally posted by: TrueAmerican

originally posted by: InnerPeace2012
a reply to: TrueAmerican

Wow, just saw the alerts come on emails and I was thinking the same quake, just got twice the email.

But thanks for sharing your insights, the last 8+ mag was only months ago, can you say how often is this kind of hugh quakes especially 6 above quakes in that same area in space of months and a double whammy hours apart?

Thanks

I might remind everyone of the precedent for foreshocks here. And it's a pretty big precedent, considering it concerns the largest earthquake ever recorded at 9.5 in Chile in 1960. Just prior to that mega quake, they had two or three 8+ quakes. Pretty scary. That's why the concern here when the fault acts up in this manner.

Thanks! This surely is similar to the largest recorded quack, now that you've pointed it out. And true that it was Chile that saw the biggest recorded quake, only makes this worth the watch!

Thanks again

a reply to: eluryh22

No, I am not making any prediction. I am simply alerting the fact that dangerous seismicity has occurred, and that people there should be extra cautious for the next few days. I believe in 1960 all those massive quakes occurred over a two day period.

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
a reply to: eluryh22

No, I am not making any prediction. I am simply alerting the fact that dangerous seismicity has occurred, and that people there should be extra cautious for the next few days. I believe in 1960 all those massive quakes occurred over a two day period.

Fair enough.

For what it's worth, I appreciate your enthusiasm and dedication to the study and encourage you to keep on it.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

What is a "usual" time frame, if there is such a thing, for a larger main quake? (If one occurs)

originally posted by: Vector99
a reply to: TrueAmerican

What is a "usual" time frame, if there is such a thing, for a larger main quake? (If one occurs)

There are no hard and fast rules on foreshocks that I know of. But generally within a week or so, if a larger quake occurs in the same general area after smaller shocks, the smaller shocks become foreshocks. It's usually pretty obvious AFTER the big one hits. The trick is to regard all seismicity such as these 6.9's occurring back to back as dangerous and as potential foreshocks BEFORE a big one hits. Especially in Chile, knowing what has happened there before.

It's all happening here and it's not going away.

Violent Shaking Along The Ring Of Fire Continues A Progression Of Disasters That Began In September

T he Ring of Fire

Quote:

Have you noticed that seismic activity along the Ring of Fire appears to be dramatically increasing? According to Volcano Discovery, 39 volcanoes around the world have recently erupted, and 32 of them are associated with the Ring of Fire.

This includes Mt. Popocatepetl which sits only about 50 miles away from Mexico City’s 18 million inhabitants. If you are not familiar with the Ring of Fire, it is an area roughly shaped like a horseshoe that runs along the outer perimeter of the Pacific Ocean.

Approximately 90 percent of all earthquakes and approximately 75 percent of all volcanic eruptions occur along the Ring of Fire. Just within the last 24 hours, we have witnessed a 4.4, a 5.4 and a 5.7 earthquake in Alaska, a 6.8 earthquake in Chile and 20 earthquakes in Indonesia of at least magnitude 4.3.

And as you will see below, this violent shaking along the Ring of Fire seems to continue a progression of major disasters that began back during the month of September. For whatever reason, our planet suddenly seems to be waking up. Unfortunately, the west coast of the United States is one of the areas where this is being felt the most.

The little city of San Ramon, California is about 45 miles east of San Francisco, and over the past several weeks it has experienced a record-breaking 583 earthquakes…

abcnews.go.com...
Quote:
This ring of fire is home to 90% of the world's earthquakes



[url=http://allnewspipeline.com/Ring_Of_Fire.php

Quote: May 17, 2015

The 'Ring Of Fire Is Shaking Violently' - Massive Uptick In Earthquakes And Volcano Eruptions - Earth 'Is Becoming Increasingly Unstable'.

edit on 11/11/2015 by awareness10 because: (no reason given)

a reply to: TrueAmerican

Good spot TA and thanks for highlighting / sharing this. Definitely worth keeping an eye on. I did read a report a month or so ago saying that the 8 mag had transferred the stress load, rather than dissipating the stress load. Basically, they were warning that further big quakes would not be a surprise (in near or immediate future).

Interestingly, this was the same advice offered for Nepal following their quake.

a reply to: awareness10

Geologists now believe we are in the process of Super Continents reforming (think Pangea). However, this process is expected to take a bit over 50 million years (so not really worth worrying about!)

With a new 5.2 having just happened on the East Pacific Rise, now I am starting to wonder if Peru/Ecuador/Columbia could be in the earthquake God's sights.



Those quakes on the left have been harbingers of doom before, many times.