The 2005 Tarapacá earthquake occurred on June 13 at 22:44:33 UTC (18:44:33 local time). Its

epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

was located near

Mamiña Mamiña is a small village located east from Iquique at 2800 metres (9.340 ft.) above sea level in the foothills of Los Andes Mountain range in northern Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part o ...

, in northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

about 125 km east-northeast of

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191, ...

, affecting the

Tarapacá Region The Tarapacá Region ( es, Región de Tarapacá, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Orur ...

and adjacent parts of Bolivia. It had a magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum felt intensity of VII (''Very strong'') on the Mercalli intensity scale.

Tectonic setting

Chile lies above the destructive plate boundary, where the Nazca Plate is being

subducted Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...

beneath the South American Plate. In the Tarapacá region the plates converge at a rate of 78 mm per year. This boundary is associated with many large earthquakes, both along the plate interface and within the downgoing slab (Nazca Plate).

Earthquake

The earthquake was an intermediate-depth event, with a hypocentral depth of 115.6 km. The focal mechanism shows that this was a normal fault event, within the subducted Nazca Plate. Finite-fault modelling of the earthquake suggests that the fault plane responsible dips to the west at about 15°.

Damage

Iglesia de Tarapacá tras terremoto de 2005

The greatest damage occurred in northern Chile, although parts of southern Peru and western Bolivia were also affected. The earthquake triggered many landslides, blocking roads and hindering relief efforts. 550 houses were completely destroyed, with at least a further 9,350 damaged. Adobe houses on the plateau in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

were particularly badly affected, with more than 80% destroyed in some villages. 11 people were killed and at least a further 200 injured.

Aftermath

Initial efforts concentrated on repairing infrastructure affected by the earthquake. By June 2006 the government reported that most of the repairs to roads and irrigation canals was complete, but that, although work had started on repairing houses and schools, more needed to be done. The effects of this earthquake on pregnant women were used to investigate the effects of acute stress on child development. The results showed that amongst poorer families, children affected by the earthquake ''in utero'' were at least six months behind in cognitive development seven years later compared to their peers in a control group in areas unaffected by the earthquake.

References

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