The 6.5 Chile earthquake struck around 100 miles from Santiago, located on the west coast of the South American state. The US Tsunami Warning Centre said the earthquake was not likely to generate a tsunami. Chile residents recorded their experiences of the earthquake on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre website.
One said: “Long and strong. Strong enough to make me move to a secure area.”
Another said: “I was in my car at a red light. The car began to move, and the power cables.”
A Santiago resident said: “It was very long, lasted several minutes, and loud.”
Another described it simply as “warlike”.
The US Geological Society warned people in the area were particularly vulnerable to strong earthquakes.
They said: “Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist.
“The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block with concrete bond beam and unreinforced brick with concrete floor construction.”
Their automatically-generated analysis of the quake indicated damage and fatalities was not unlikely.
It said there was a 30 percent change of 1-10 fatalities, and a four percent chance of 10-100. There was a 53 percent chance of no fatalities.
They also said there was a 42 percent chance of $1-$10million of damage and a six percent chance of $10-100million. There was a 53 percent chance of $1million or less in damages.
This is a developing story, more to follow…