HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

March 26, 2012. Large earthquake hits central Chile

SOURCE: Altegrity Risk International

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck central Chile late on March 25th, the strongest and longest quake reported since a devastating earthquake hit the area two years earlier. Some people were injured by falling ceiling material, but there were no reports of major damage or deaths due to quake-related accidents. The quake struck at 7:30pm local time about 27km (approximately 16 miles) north-northwest of Talca. Buildings swayed in Santiago. Residents were particularly alarmed in Constitucion, where much of the coastal downtown at the mouth of a river was obliterated by the tsunami caused by the 8.8-magnitude quake in 2010. Panic also struck in Santiago and other cities, with people running out of skyscrapers, and many neighborhoods were left partly or totally without electrical power. Phone service collapsed due to heavy traffic.

The Chilean navy's hydrographic and oceanographic service and the national emergency office called off a tsunami warning for most of the central coast after an analysis showed the quake wasn't the type to provoke killer waves. The alert was restored for the area closest to the epicenter after police noticed the ocean had retreated about 130 feet (40 meters) from the shore in the towns of Iloca and Duao. A sharp outsurge of surf sometimes is followed by a tsunami.