Chile suffers another earthquake just weeks after the earthquake that devastated the South American nation struck. The latest earthquake hit at a massive 7.2-magnitude aftershock. Aftershocks are considered not usual following an original earthquake of enormous magnitude, according to scientists. The aftershock struck Chile at approximately 11:40 am local time.
The fact that is was bigger than the original Feb. 27 has the hard hit nation on high alert. This massive quake has even surpassed the magnitude of the earthquake that hit Haiti in January. A larger magnitude earthquake is not uncommon, suggests Don Blakeman, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey. On Feb 27, Chile experienced the world’s largest 8.8-magnitude earthquake to date just off the coast of the Maule region.
Aftershocks are generally part of the process the original earthquake can generate. Typically, aftershocks tend to be of a lesser magnitude and can involve several smaller aftershocks. With an original quake that was more than an 8 in magnitude "we would expect at least a couple of 7's," Blakeman told LiveScience. Aftershocks are the direct result of the fault readjusting after being ruptured in the original temblor. They tend to occur in the nearby zone of the original earthquake.
According to Blakeman, "the bigger the quake, the larger the aftershock zone." The original earthquake rupture zone was 250 miles (400 kilometers) long, "so it's a very big zone," Blakeman added. The recent aftershock struck almost 93 miles (150 km) southwest of Santiago, the capital of Chile. As aftershocks can last for weeks to months, the latest Chile earthquake may not be the last. "It kind of runs in spells," Blakeman said.
Video of the latest 7.2 magnitude Chile Earthquake.
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