A 7.0-magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks rattled Chile on January 23, 2021.
And residents across Chile ran into panic as authorities issued a nationwide tsunami alert, while only seeking to evacuate the country’s largest research station in Antarctica.
The strongest of the 9 jolts struck South Shetland Islands 216 kilometers northeast of Chile’s O’Higgins scientific base at 8:36pm. It was followed by 8 quakes between M5.5 and M4.9.
About 30 minutes after the strongest blast, a M5.8 hit the Chile-Argentina border region close to the capital, Santiago.
While the warning was only meant for the coastal regions of Antarctica, people all across Chile received messages urging them to abandon coastal areas due to a tsunami threat, triggering much confusion.
False alarm for evacuation in all of Chile for a tsunami alert. The only place that needs to evacuate is Antártica Chile base. #LaSerena #Chile #Sismo #Quake #Covid_19 https://t.co/FakNp9NRZK
— Llama Viajante (@LlamaViajante) January 24, 2021
The Interior Ministry soon clarified that the evacuation order was sent out to cell phones nationwide by “mistake,” while Miguel Ortiz of the National Emergency Office apologized for the “inconvenience.”
“We want to provide peace of mind to the population, tell them that it is not necessary to evacuate the entire national territory, only the Antarctic base.“
❗Atención. Reiteramos que no se ha declarado evacuación para el borde costero a nivel nacional, sólo para zona de playa del territorio antártico. https://t.co/xtT2KWaf8E
— onemichile (@onemichile) January 24, 2021
Chile’s largest Antarctic installation, Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, was evacuated as a precaution. “Our staff is protected in a safe place without incident,” the Chilean Air Force said on Twitter.
No damage was reported from either the quake or the aftershocks, and the tsunami warning was lifted after only a negligible wave of just over an inch reached the shores of Antarctica. The personnel of Eduardo Frei also returned to their facilities.
Located just 200 meters from the Russian Bellingshausen Station, Eduardo Frei is the most important of Chile’s four permanent installations on the icy continent, where the country claims a slice of territory covering the South Shetland Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula, and several other adjacent islands.The base is supported by the tiny commune of Villa Las Estrellas, which has a population of about 150 in the summer – between October and February – and only 80 for the rest of the year.
More strange Antarctica news on Strange Sounds and Steve Quayle. [RT]
Not something is coming someone is about to arrive. The beast that is, was , and is not. Hold onto your old computer don’t buy a new one. We should control the machines not the other way around. The beast that is was and is not is AI plain and simple.
During the first century, when that was written, there was no AI… So how can you say that AI “was”, “is” (first century AD) and “was not”?
lots of earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and flooding, abnormal weather around the globe is it still call a “climate change” or something is coming.
False alarm— or foreshadowing of events to come? Time will tell.