Chile Earthquake: Strong Quake Strikes Near Bolivia Border

A strong earthquake struck the Antofagasta region of Chile, near the Bolivia border, this afternoon.

The USGS reports the quake had a magnitude of 6.3 and it took place at 12:35 p.m. local time. Moderate intensity was felt in Alto Hospicio and Iquique.

The quake's epicenter was recorded as 55 miles northeast of Calama and 178 miles northeast of Antofagasta. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Reuters reports that the quake took place in a copper-rich part of Chile known for its mines, though early indications suggest there was no major mine damage.

According to Irish Weather Online, 2011 is on track to have the largest number of earthquakes in a single year for at least 12 years.

Comments

[patsunikbutik]

08:24 AM on 06/21/2011

Earthquakes & volcanic eruptions seemingly follow a lunar eclipse.

[bobjimflys]

04:22 AM on 06/21/2011

Quakes, in the Pacific rim of fire quakes have been there for just about as long as the nerds can figure it out.

So, what happens if the Sun starts to cool down a few degrees? Which is speculation now, but if it becomes fact what happens, besides crop failures and giant food shortages.

So what if the Gulf Stream stopped, what are the consequences?

An Ice age within 10 years..

It sure was nice today in AK.

According to data from UofA Fairbanks there has been more arctic ice every year since 2007...


http://www.ijis.iarc.uaf.edu/en/home/seaice_extent.htm

[baddunion]

09:31 AM on 06/21/2011

That is true, Global Warming is a hoax.

[smp276dp]

11:03 AM on 06/21/2011

Spoken by the voice of corporations.
I think people need to have their head examined. They support the same thing big companies do. They big corporation have motive to influence things in there favor. What motive could any individual have? Not a business owner or stock in these campanies? Vote party lines? Drinking the postion the party is serving? Not sure why.

[pollie-graff]

01:58 AM on 06/21/2011

Just now being reported. A fire in an electrical switch room on Tuesday briefly knocked out cooling for a pool holding spent nuclear fuel at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant outside Omaha, Neb., plant officials said. The safety of deep pools used to store used radioactive fuel at nuclear plants has been an issue since the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant in March. If the cooling water a pool is lost, the used nuclear fuel could catch fire and release radiation.

[PetrBuben]

06:40 AM on 06/21/2011

that plant is flooded, correct?

[smp276dp]

11:05 AM on 06/21/2011

It is burning turkey, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and earlier this year California.
It is rumbling ans shaking every where. And volcano ash in a few places.
I wonder how many think 2012 puff it is all gone?

[Fancy433]

01:28 AM on 06/21/2011

These people cannot seem to get a break. The area that concerns me more than any is the Cascadia Subduction Zone. If this area breaks loose it will be North Americas Japan.

[jtsmadnow]

10:16 PM on 06/20/2011

why wasnt my comment posted ?

[bi1]

11:03 PM on 06/20/2011

get used to it

[bighornman]

11:20 PM on 06/20/2011

What did you say? @#!$%^&* ... something like that ?

[smp276dp]

07:26 PM on 06/20/2011

And they will continue. Has anyone noticed since the big oil spill in the gulf of Mexico. These quakes, floods and tornado's have been much more frequent?

[likes2kayak]

08:10 PM on 06/20/2011

It's a La Nina weather pattern which is always more disruptive than an El Nino weather pattern.

[smp276dp]

09:41 PM on 06/20/2011

Woman are more destructive than men your saying?
I am married for 35 years believe me I know hahahahahaha

[raal246]

08:36 PM on 06/20/2011

I see you are Rican by the flag. So am I - please do NOT embarrass us with such comments UNLESS you have factual proof! Before you attack me - I am a retired weather forecaster, also was a Superintendent in Solar Analysis center. I love sciences in all their glory.
Point: Th oil spill was insignificant when you look at the world as a whole. The floods and tornadoes are just part of nature, we have had them for eons and will continue to have them.

[gracecfl]

09:29 PM on 06/20/2011

The oil spill has nothing to do with earthquakes, fires, floods, and tornadoes. Yes there have been more earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and destruction for many many many years. The earthquakes and eruptions I don't think that anyone can blame on man's interaction with our environment or the planet, but warming oceans, melting glaciers and the continued waste - burning up the rainforest and fossil fuels, could be contributing to climate change. Floods and tornadoes are certainly part of nature, we will have them for many years to come. And to my Rican friends, Viva Puerto Rico, libre e independiente, I hope I said that right, I have some great PR friends who hope one day to have their own country.

[smp276dp]

09:51 PM on 06/20/2011

I am not going to attack you. Just tell you to get off your high horse. And it was only an observation which is all it was. For voicing an obserabtion you do not need facts. That could be one perception. And if your embrassed keep your ego in check sir. And please note that facts, one has nothing to do with the other as I commented on my post. It does not change the fact there are more of everything I had mentioned since they spill occured. And that is FACT not opinion. Gracias. Please reread my post.

[Mickey Bitsko]

06:23 PM on 06/20/2011

The only place left in the 'ring of fire' is the upper right part of the ring namely the space between the 'Aleutian Trench and the Middle America Trench' there is a void that has not been opened as of late.

[ZaneDavid]

07:18 PM on 06/20/2011

Here in Panama, we are worried about the Cocos and Nazca plates.....no activity in a
very long time..so we are due.

[IMRITENOTU]

11:07 PM on 06/20/2011

There has been a lot of tectonic activity this year which makes me wonder if the earth is preparing for a polar change or maybe growth in mass?

[David Jeffers]

10:10 PM on 06/20/2011

There have been 29 earthquakes around the ring of fire in the last 70 or 80 days that have measured 4.0 or higher. The Yellostone basin has risen 30 inches in the last decade and is 50k years overdue for an eruption. The question is how much damage can we do to this planet before it eliminates us?

[Fancy433]

01:14 AM on 06/21/2011

Really???

[wolfiegirl]

04:28 PM on 06/20/2011

Hopefully it is not a foreshock.

[Rosary Luna]

04:10 PM on 06/20/2011

I hope everyone in So. Cal is prepared for a large earthquake. We seem to be the only ones situated on the Ring of Fire that hasn't had one recently. The last one we had was the 1994 Northridge quake, so, our turn could be coming at any time. Just be prepared!!!

[Thomas HuttonPotts]

05:39 PM on 06/20/2011

You have got this right sister. Everyone should be prepared for a major rumble there in So Cal. It's been way way too calm for way way too long.

[David Jeffers]

10:19 PM on 06/20/2011

If Yellowstone goes, that is the one that drops CA into the pacific and changes the planet forever. It is 50k years over due and it is growing.

[Jennifer Hagan]

04:08 PM on 06/20/2011

I wonder if those sinkholes will be coming up again. I'm so glad I don't live in a seismically active zone.

[Rafael Perez]

03:11 PM on 06/20/2011

Snorlax, use body slam!

[havok563]

11:47 PM on 06/20/2011

Go Dugtrio! Use earthquake!

[Rafael Perez]

12:33 AM on 06/21/2011

*Its super effective!*

Snorlax, return! *sound of pokeball*

Lapras come out and use tsunami! (too early?)

[pollie-graff]

01:50 PM on 06/20/2011

I have been going to this site daily since the Japan quakes in March, and as you can see lots of shaking worldwide. http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php

[deminmo]

04:08 PM on 06/20/2011

Big nuclear plant accident in Nebraska, but a press blackout. I think
there is more to be worried about than earthquakes!

[pollie-graff]

05:34 PM on 06/20/2011

True, the site I linked above also shows nuclear accidents, but nothing about Nebraska. This is all I could find .“Nebraska Public Power District issued a flooding alert Sunday for its nuclear power plant in southeast Nebraska as the Missouri River continues to rise. At the moment they are calling it an " unusual event

[Fancy433]

01:42 AM on 06/21/2011

pollie-graff====

Great Link!! Thanks for sharing it.

Fancy433

[AlonzoQuijana]

01:30 PM on 06/20/2011

This is in the middle of nowhere. The potential for damage is minimal.

[sean62965]

02:34 PM on 06/20/2011

It is a very, very dry desert. I think they get 1/20th of an inch of rain a year. Extremely light population, no buildings to speak of.

[ZaneDavid]

07:15 PM on 06/20/2011

I think it is called the driest place on earth.

[cocoa vanilla]

01:14 PM on 06/20/2011

6.3? that's a minor earthquake in chile people don´t even bother to get out of bed(it it's at night) and they keep doing whatever they are doing ;); For the big earthquake from that summer I seriously considered to stay in bed, but then it prolonged and my stuff was on the floor, so I went outside. Some of my friends din´t even notice the earthquake and kept sleeping. We are that used to earthquakes :) (of course, hysterical people exist here as well, but they are a minority xD)

[ZaneDavid]

07:14 PM on 06/20/2011

My son-in-law works in Calama and didn't even mention it when I talked to him this afternoon.

[gracecfl]

09:33 PM on 06/20/2011

My son went to Chile to visit some friends who were working there. He got off the plane, they all had dinner and were sitting on the couch in the living room when a 5.0 quake hit. The dogs all took off outside, and he was ready to jump and they said don't worry it's only about a 5.0, Northern Chile is sparsely inhabited, it's mining country and it's a major desert. All of Chile is sitting on a fault line so they would tend to get earthquakes and they continue to live there and live with them.