Chile must prepare for an earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or more, warns expert
Chile could have an earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or more in the coming year due to seismic activity, says an expert.
Sergio Barrientos, of the National Seismic Centre in Chile, said that the possibility of a quake registering 8 or more is around 65%, with this estimate taking into account the patterns over the past few years.
He told La Tercera that Chile has been registering nearly 7,000 tremors a year which are registering 3 or more. “Chile is always exposed to the possibility of something big happening,” he said.
“There is no methodology that allows us to anticipate all the movements (…) but from what we do know, there is a tremor of a magnitude of 8 or greater every 12 years in Chile.”
And he added over the next year there is “a slightly greater than 65% chance that there will be an earthquake of 8 or greater.”