A catastrophe risk modeling firm estimated today that the insured losses from yesterday's 7.7 magnitude northern Chile earthquake should not exceed $80 million.
Boston-based AIR Worldwide Corp. said the quake had hit a relatively sparsely population region.
The shock wave "was felt as far away as Santiago, some 1,245 km [772 miles] to the south," said Guillermo Franco, senior research engineer at AIR Worldwide. "A tsunami warning was issued for Chile and Peru, but was lifted within an hour."
The town nearest the epicenter, Tocopilla, has a population estimated at about 30,000, AIR reported, and the nearest sizable concentration of property is the northern port city of Antofagasta, about 105 miles south of the epicenter. Antofagasta is both the provincial and regional capital, with a population near 300,000.
Early broadcast reports said at least two persons were killed, 150 injured, and 3,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
AIR said toppled utility poles have cut power and communications to some areas.
The firm said while damage may be more extensive in more remote towns and villages nearer the epicenter, homes in those areas unlikely to be insured.
Mr. Franco said Wednesday's earthquake occurred "along a trench where the Nazca plate is subducting beneath the South America Plate." Subduction is the process in which one tectonic plate is pushed downward beneath another plate into the underlying mantle.
The engineer noted, "There is some debate as to the rate of subduction. One model suggests a plate motion of about 80 mm/yr, though recent GPS data would suggest a somewhat slower rate and other studies suggest that the rate of subduction is actually decelerating."
Mr. Franco mentioned that since 1932, there have been 13 earthquakes greater than magnitude 5 within 31 miles of yesterday's event. Two of these were greater than magnitude 6, and one was greater than magnitude 7, he said.
AIR said its insured loss estimate is a result of several factors, including the 37 mile depth at which the rupture occurred, the sparse population in the epicentral region and the low insurance take-up rates for residential properties. Both parameters (magnitude and depth) may change as additional information comes in from networks around the world, the company noted.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.