all right, another M 6.2 aftershock in Chile

While I was writing my post about the M 7.6 aftershock, we got a M 6.2 aftershock. A M 6.2, while still large, is much smaller than a M 7.6. Each step in earthquake magnitude (e.g. from M 5 to M 6) coincides with a energy release that is 33 times larger for the larger magnitude earthquake. In other words, a M 6.0 earthquake is 3,300 times more energetic than a M 5.0 earthquake. An M 7.0 would be about 1,089% larger than a M 5.0 earthquake, or 1,089,000 more energetic. This is the USGS web page for this M 6.2 earthquake.
Here is the map with the latest aftershock plotted as a red star.


This map shows the shaking intensity (using the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale). The shaking intensity is much smaller than the other earthquakes, but still very large. Larger than the recent M 5.1 earthquake in southern California. We can here rest assured that the people in coastal northern Chile are probably not sleeping well. Lets hope that the M 8.2 and all these aftershocks, do not trigger a much larger earthquake. The larger earthquake will happen eventually. So, perhaps it is better than it happens sooner than later. At the least, if it happens now, people are the most prepared for such an earthquake and tsunami as they ever would be. People typically are most aware of any given hazard right after they have experienced that hazard. Over time, people forget and become complacent. The people in this region are most assuredly all ready and aware of the existence of earthquakes and tsunami.


Also for comparison with the PAGER loss estimate pages from some of the other earthquakes, here is the PAGER page for this earthquake: