The 8.2 magnitude earthquake that struck 95 miles offshore from the northern city of Iquique on Tuesday spared winemaking regions of Chile.
“The epicenter of the quake was nearly a 1,000 miles northwest of the capital city of Santiago and 700 miles from the northernmost vineyards in Elqui. ” said Marybeth Bentwood, Executive Director of Wines of Chile USA.
“At 8.2 it was an extraordinarily powerful event, but thankfully it occurred far enough away from the most populous parts of the country,” Bentwood said. “We have spoken to the wineries in Chile and have been reassured that there was very little impact on the vineyards, wineries and related industries. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who were affected by the quake.”
Chile is in one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world. A 7.6 magnitude aftershock struck the region late Wednesday evening. Chile sits on the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines circling the Pacific Ocean. Chile sees frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Since 1973, Chile has had more than a dozen quakes of magnitude 7.0 and above. At the time of this story, Chile is still experiencing many aftershocks after two major earthquakes in less than 24 hours.
Richter Scale:
Invented in 1935 by Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg, of the California Institute of Technology. After a seismograph recorded the amplitude of waves during an earthquake, Richter used a logarithm to determine the magnitude of the quake. Each whole number increase on the scale, say from 5.0 to 6.0, represents a tenfold increase in amplitude and releases 32 times more energy.
About Wines of Chile
Wines of Chile is an organization committed to promoting the quality and image of Chilean wine throughout the world. It has offices in Santiago, London and New York, as well as representatives in Canada, Ireland and Denmark. Wines of Chile also works closely with ProChile to develop and offer promotional and educational programs in Asia, Latin America and Europe. For more information about Wines of Chile please visit www.winesofchileusa.com and find them on Facebook and Twitter.
