Chilean Earthquake Strikes Near Temuco Chile in Araucania

The USGS reported that an earthquake registering a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter Scale stuck near the coastal city of Temuco in Chile. The epicenter of the quake was located about 43 miles to the northwest of Temuco. The earthquake struck at 3:20 PM EST (5:20 PM Local at the Epicenter) or 20:20 UTC. The USGS estimated that the depth of the earthquake was about 16 km beneath the surface of the earth.

Temuco is the capital city of the Araucania Region in Chile located near the west coast of South America. The population of the city is near a quarter million people, with most of them living in urban areas. Temuco has primarily a tourist based economy, since it is located near many lakes a rivers, along with the Andes Mountains.

Other cites within the region that may have been affected by the earthquake include Carahue, Canete, Nueva Imperial, and Traiguen. All of these Chilean cities have a population of 10,000 people or more. The USGS website has estimated that Carahue may have received moderate to heavy structural damage with the other receiving light to moderate earthquake damage.

The other large Chilean city near the earthquake zone includes Talcahuano and the Chilean city of Los Angeles.

Chile is made up of administrative divisions, that are further broken up into provinces. The Araucania Region in Chile has two provinces, Malleco and Cautin.

Within this same area of Chile, a 7.1 Richter scale earthquake last occurred on August 8th, 1974. A stronger earthquake of 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred on May 10th, 1975. Just yesterday, a 7.0 Richter scale earthquake struck north of the region in Argentina.

Source: USGS and Wikipedia