Moderate earthquake rattles Venezuela's capital (Preliminary magnitude of 6.2 to 6.4)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 9/12/09 | AP

[Strategerist]

Warning shot from the South American/Carribean Plate boundary which has been there causing large earthquakes periodically for tens of millions of years.

[Cindy]

Venezuela earthquake ping.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2338270/posts

[NormsRevenge]

That's a pretty good pop.

'Ring of Fire'

Active Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics, "Hot Spots" and the "Ring of Fire"

[bd476]

Today there was also a Magnitude 2.9 - VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION and a 4.9 quake near Chile:

I posted a map below showing the 6.4 quake and the one near Chile.

The September 12, 2009 earthquake offshore of Venezuela occurred at a shallow depth as a result of right-lateral strike-slip faulting.

The tectonics of this area are dominated by the eastward motion of the Caribbean plate with respect to the South American plate, at a rate of approximately 20mm/yr.

Major fault systems in the region include the Boconó fault further to the southwest, and the San Sebastián and El Pilar faults which run from west to east near the earthquake epicenter; these faults accommodate the majority of the motion between the two plates.

The location of today’s event indicates it may have occurred on the San Sebastián or El Pilar faults, though further analysis of the earthquake is needed.

The region surrounding the September 12th event is known to be seismically active, and has hosted strong earthquakes in the past; previous damaging earthquakes include an M6.5 quake in July 1967 that caused approximately 240 fatalities, and an M5.4 quake in May 1989 which made more than 2000 people homeless in the Tucacas area.

Magnitude 6.4 - OFFSHORE ARAGUA, VENEZUELA







Magnitude 4.9 - OFF THE COAST OF LOS LAGOS, CHILE

2009 September 12 17:40:05 UTC

Magnitude 4.9
Date-Time Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 17:40:05 UTC
Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 12:40:05 PM at epicenter

Location 42.043°S, 76.730°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region OFF THE COAST OF LOS LAGOS, CHILE
Distances

255 km (160 miles) WNW of Castro, Chile
320 km (200 miles) WSW of Puerto Montt, Chile
340 km (210 miles) WSW of Osorno, Chile
1095 km (680 miles) SSW of SANTIAGO, Chile

Magnitude 4.9 - OFF THE COAST OF LOS LAGOS, CHILE

[M. Espinola]

Hugo got a wake up call.