Chile hit by second powerful earthquake

As the Chilean fresh fruit industry is still assessing the impact of yesterday’s earthquake on production areas in northern and central regions of the country a second quake has hit the country.

The second powerful earthquake has struck off northern Chile, just a day after the region was hit by a deadly 8.2 magnitude tremor.

The 7.6 magnitude quake rattled buildings and triggered a new round of evacuations, although a tsunami alert issued for coastal communities was soon lifted.

It also caused a number of landslides near Alto Hospicio, a poor area in the hills above the port town of Iquique, where 2,500 homes and many fishing boats were damaged by Tuesday's quake.

At this point, it remains too early to deliver a full long-term analysis, but indications are that the industry has emerged with almost no damage.

Chile was impacted on Wednesday evening (September 17th) by the first, 8.4 magnitude earthquake and the epicenter was close to the northern city of Illapel around 282 km from the capital, Santiago. A tsunami warning was issued for all coastal areas in the Pacific region. The quake was so strong that it was felt on the other side of the continent in Buenos Aires. "It was a very, very severe earthquake which also lasted for almost two minutes," explained Andre van Tuil from Combifrut, "We had 62 aftershocks throughout the night."

"It's not clear at the moment what the damage is, but we don't expect much damage to the fruit growing industry," he said yesterday. "The first trees with cherries and stonefruit are just coming into blossom, so they should not be affected. The damage is in the infrastructure, we will see in the coming days how bad that is."

"The most important ports don't have too much damage and because the quake took place in the north and most fruit is grown in the south, in our area it is more a shock than actual damage."

Large fishing boats have been washed up onto the streets Coquimbo

There was indeed damage caused in the north of the country, in the northern port city of Coquimbo, waves of up to 4.5 meters slammed into the shore, it was declared an emergency area by the government.

The quake also knocked out power in the worst hit areas of central Chile, although most buildings, roads and other ports held up well.

Today tsunami waves continue to ripple across the Pacific Ocean, sparking evacuations in Japan, after the earthquake generated a dangerous 15-foot tsunami along parts of the Chilean coast. Chilean authorities said at least 12 people have died as a result of earthquake-related incidents, and officials continue to assess the damage as a flurry of aftershocks continued to rattle the South American country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory for the entire Pacific coast of the island nation at 3 a.m. local time Friday (2 p.m. EDT Thursday). The agency warned of non-damaging waves as high as 1 meter (3 feet).

The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) has reported that to date there have not been any reports of damage to either packing sheds, cold storage facilities or transportation links. Still to be confirmed is the state of infrastructure of the northern port of Coquimbo. 

Ronald Bown, Chairman of the Board of ASOEX, said: “There does not seem to be any impact on the fruit industry and the coming cherry and blueberry seasons should begin without any major interruption. Chile is well prepared for these types of seismic events, and growers and exporters will continue to make every effort to meet previously established shipping goals. At the same time, as an industry, we would like to send our deepest condolences to the families of those compatriots who have lost their lives in this earthquake." 

Contact:

Karen Brux

Tel: (+1) 650-654-0777