1922 Vallenar earthquake

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1922 Vallenar earthquake
South America laea relief location map.jpg
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UTC  time1922-11-11 04:32:51
ISC  event 912062
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local date10 November 1922 (1922-11-10)
Local time23:53
Magnitude8.3—8.6 Mw , 8.7 Mt [1]
Depth35.0 km (22 mi) [2]
Epicenter 28°59′17″S70°42′14″W / 28.988°S 70.704°W / -28.988; -70.704 [2]
Areas affected Chile, Argentina
Max. intensity MMI XI (Extreme)
TsunamiYes
CasualtiesSeveral hundred

The 1922 Vallenar earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 8.3 and a tsunami magnitude of 8.7 in the Atacama Region of Chile, near the border with Argentina on 11 November at 04:32 UTC. [2] [3] [4] [5] [1] It triggered a destructive tsunami that caused significant damage to the coast of Chile and was observed as far away as Australia.

Contents

Tectonic setting

The earthquake took place along the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, at a location where they converge at a rate of seventy millimeters a year.

Chile has been at a convergent plate boundary that generates megathrust earthquakes since the Paleozoic (500 million years ago). In historical times the Chilean coast has suffered many megathrust earthquakes along this plate boundary, including the strongest earthquake ever measured. Most recently, the boundary ruptured in 2010 in central Chile. [6]

Damage and deaths

The earthquake caused extensive damage in a zone extending approximately from Copiapó to Coquimbo. Newspapers estimated more than 1,000 dead as a result of the quake, at least 500 of them in Vallenar. [7] The tsunami killed several hundred people in coastal cities, especially in Coquimbo. [3]

Total damage was estimated to be in the range of $5–25 million U.S. (1922 dollars). [3] [8]

Characteristics

Earthquake

Damage in the Atacama Region Casas colapsadas por terremoto de Vallenar de 1922.jpg
Damage in the Atacama Region

The earthquake was preceded by strong foreshocks on 3 and 7 November. The main shock lasted between thirty seconds and eight minutes according to various reports. [9] A maximum Mercalli-Sieberg intensity was XI assigned in Vallenar and the surrounding region was assigned X. Shaking intensity decreased further west towards the coast, ranging from VII to IX. The location closest to the tsunami source, Caldera, was assigned VII. This suggest an inland earthquake source. [10]

A 2019 study in Geophysical Journal International suggested the earthquake ruptured the subduction zone interface. The tsunami triggered by the mainshock was large and corresponded with a tsunami magnitude (Mt ) of 8.7. Estimates of the moment magnitude range from 8.3 to 8.6. [11] The length of the plate boundary that ruptured during the earthquake is estimated to be 300 to 450 km (190 to 280 mi). [12]

Tsunami

The epicenter of the earthquake was well inland and the tsunami may have been caused by a submarine slide triggered by the shaking. [13]

At Caldera the tsunami began about 15 minutes after the earthquake, with a maximum run-up height of 7 m (23 ft). At Chañaral the tsunami had three surges, the first about an hour after the earthquake, the maximum run-up height was 9 m (30 ft). Three surges were also seen at Coquimbo, the last being the most destructive with a maximum run-up of 7 m (23 ft). [12]

The tsunami was also observed in Callao, Peru (2.4 m, 7.9 ft), California (0.2 m, 8 in 13.0 hours delay), Hawaii (2.1 m, 6.9 ft 14.5 hours), Samoa (0.9 m, 3 ft 14.1 hours), Japan (0.3 m, 1 ft), Taiwan (0.03 m, 1 in), New Zealand (0.1 m, 3.9 in), Australia (0.2 m, 7.9 in) [14] and the Philippines (0.1 m, 3.9 in). [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1868 Arica earthquake</span> Chilean earthquake and Pacific Ocean tsunami

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The 1730 Valparaíso earthquake occurred at 04:45 local time on July 8. It had an estimated magnitude of 9.1–9.3 and triggered a major tsunami with an estimated magnitude of Mt  8.75, that inundated the lower parts of Valparaíso. The earthquake caused severe damage from La Serena to Chillan, while the tsunami affected more than 1,000 km (620 mi) of Chile's coastline.

The 1965 Rat Islands earthquake occurred at 05:01 UTC, on 4 February. It had a magnitude of 8.7 and triggered a tsunami of over 10 m on Shemya Island, but caused very little damage.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 Tōnankai earthquake</span> Earthquake and tsunami affecting southern Japan

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On January 30, 1973, at 15:01 (UTC–6), a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck 35.3 km (21.9 mi) beneath the Sierra Madre del Sur range in the Mexican states of Colima, Jalisco and Michoacán. On the Mercalli intensity scale, the earthquake reached a maximum intensity of X (Extreme), causing serious damage in the region. At least 56 people were killed and about 390 were injured. The event is commonly referred to as the Colima earthquake.

The Nemuro-Oki earthquake in scientific literature, occurred on June 17 at 12:55 local time. It struck with an epicenter just off the Nemuro Peninsula in northern Hokkaidō, Japan. It measured 7.8–7.9 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw ), 8.1 on the tsunami magnitude scale (Mt ) and 7.4 on the Japan Meteorological Agency magnitude scale (MJMA ).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Chignik earthquake</span> 7th largest earthquake in the US

An earthquake occurred off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula on July 28, 2021, at 10:15 p.m. local time. The large megathrust earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.2 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A tsunami warning was issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) but later cancelled. The mainshock was followed by a number of aftershocks, including three that were of magnitude 5.9, 6.1 and 6.9 respectively.

During April 1819, the area around Copiapó in northern Chile was struck by a sequence of earthquakes over a period of several days. The largest of these earthquakes occurred on 11 April at about 15:00 local time, with an estimated magnitude of Mw 8.5. The other two events, on 3 April between 08:00 and 09:00 local time and on 4 April at 16:00 local time, are interpreted as foreshocks to the mainshock on 11 April. The mainshock triggered a tsunami that affected 800 km of coastline and was also recorded at Hawaii. The city of Copiapó was devastated.

The 1950 Calama earthquake occurred near the Argentina–Chile border with an epicenter near Calama, Chile in the Atacama Desert on December 9. The event had a hypocenter depth of 113.9 km, beneath the Caichinque volcanic complex. It measured magnitude Mw  8.2 on the moment magnitude scale, making it the largest intermediate depth earthquake ever recorded on Chilean soil. One person was killed and an unspecified number of people were injured in Calama.

The 1657 Concepción earthquake occurred on March 15 at 20:00 local time off the coast of Concepción, Biobío Region in the Spanish Empire. The earthquake caused severe damage along the coast, and generated a large tsunami in the Bay of Concepción. At least 40 people were killed, the majority due to drowning from the tsunami. The town of Concepción was the hardest hit, with the earthquake and tsunami totally destroying it.

The 1784 Peru earthquake occurred at 07:35 local time on 13 May with a moment magnitude of 8.4 and maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). It affected southern Peru and generated a tsunami of 2–4 m ; the region was previously affected by magnitude 8.0 or greater earthquakes in 1604 and 1687.

References

  1. 1 2 Abe, Katsuyuki (1979). "Size of great earthquakes of 1837–1974 inferred from tsunami data". Journal of Geophysical Research. 84 (B4): 1561–1568. Bibcode:1979JGR....84.1561A. doi:10.1029/JB084iB04p01561 . Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 ISC (25 June 2024), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1904-2020), Version 11, International Seismological Centre
  3. 1 2 3 USGS, Historic Earthquakes.Chile-Argentina Border. 1922 November 11 04:32 UTC. Magnitude 8.5
  4. ↑ Seismological Notes, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. "Seismological Notes" is a list of recent important earthquakes with short summaries included in each issue of the BSSA.
  5. ↑ Carvajal, M.; Cisternas, M.; Gubler, A.; Catalán, P. A.; Winckler, P.; Wesson, R. L. (14 December 2016). "Reexamination of the magnitudes for the 1906 and 1922 Chilean earthquakes using Japanese tsunami amplitudes: Implications for source depth constraints". Journal of Geophysical Research. 122 (1): 4–17. Bibcode:2017JGRB..122....4C. doi: 10.1002/2016JB013269 . S2CID   132901262.
  6. ↑ "Magnitude 8.8 – OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE". United States Geological Survey. 6 March 2010. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  7. ↑ "Thousands Die in Earthquake." Tulsa (OK) World, 13 November 1922, p. 1.
  8. ↑ Dunbar, Paula K., Lockridge, Patricia A., and Whiteside, Lowell S., 1992, Catalog of significant earthquakes 2150 B.C. – 1991 A.D.: U. S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  9. 1 2 NGDC. "Comments for 1922 tsunami" . Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  10. ↑ Gutenberg, B. (1939). "Tsunamis and earthquakes" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 29 (4): 523–526. Bibcode:1939BuSSA..29..517G. doi:10.1785/BSSA0290040517.
  11. ↑ Kanamori, Hiroo; Rivera, Luis; Ye, Lingling; Lay, Thorne; Murotani, Satoko; Tsumura, Kenshiro (2019). "New constraints on the 1922 Atacama, Chile, earthquake from Historical seismograms". Geophysical Journal International. 219 (1): 645–661. doi: 10.1093/gji/ggz302 .
  12. 1 2 SHOA (Servicio de Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico). "Tsunamis registrados en la costa de Chile" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  13. ↑ Gutenberg, B. (1939). "Tsunamis and earthquakes". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 29 (4): 517–526. Bibcode:1939BuSSA..29..517G. doi:10.1785/BSSA0290040517. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  14. ↑ "Effect on Australian Tides". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
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