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Chile
Chile Earthquake
Historically, Chile is one of the most seismically active regions in the
world. It sits on the South American plate, directly above the
subducting Nazca plate. This active subduction zone causes frequent
earthquakes in the region.
Over the last century, Chile has experienced more than a dozen major
earthquakes. The 1906 Great Valparaiso earthquake (Ms8.6), damaged much
of central Chile and was felt from Peru to Buenos Aires. In the 1939
Chillan Ms8.3 earthquake, damage covered an area of 45,000 square
kilometers. In the 1960 Chiloe events, an entire segment of the
subducting Nazca plate ruptured with the main shock measuring Mw9.5, the
largest instrumentally-recorded event in the world. In 1985, central
Chile was hit again by a quake measuring Ms7.8, resulting in losses of
US$1.8 billion. Damage from this earthquake was concentrated in the
ports of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar.
While earthquake hazard in Chile is among the highest in the world, the
country’s building codes and practices have been adapted to respond to
this environment, helping to mitigate the level of financial risk. Since
1996, the RMS® Chile Earthquake Model has helped companies underwriting
business in Chile to understand and quantify the interaction of hazard
and building vulnerability to determine the impact on insured portfolio
losses.
Model Highlights
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140 source regions with earthquake generating potential |
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Earthquake modeling parameters developed in consultation with
experts from the University of Chile |
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Comprehensive hazard database for soil amplification potential and
liquefaction susceptibility |
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Vulnerability functions that account for local/regional construction
differences and building code changes in 1950 and 1975 |
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Building inventory database of national construction mix, used to
develop default assumptions when construction class is not known |
Geographic Scope
Covers all regions of Chile
Exposure Data Resolution
Data input supported at the following levels of resolution:
latitude-longitude, city district (Santiago only), city, comuna (county
equivalent), and CRESTA zone
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