- Dear Readers:
-
- Since last week, Chile and Argentina have been experiencing
unprecedented seismic activity. Argentina, not an earthquake-prone region,
began experiencing tremors this past weekend. The aftershocks have been
followed by more intense quakes.
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- BUENOS AIRES (Agencias) - The seismic movement that affected
at least twelve of the twenty-four provinces of Argentina achieved the
magnitude of an earthquake and caused the deaths of a woman, everal wounded,
general alarmo among the population and light material damage.
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- The Meteorological Institute of the province of San Juan
reported today that in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, in the country's
northwestern corner, the phenomenon reached an intensity of 6 degrees on
the Richter scale while San Juan, also along the Andean Range, shook to
3 degrees on the same scale.
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- The epicenter was located some 500 km SW of Catamarca
province, with extensions into Chilean territory. .
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- The Seismographic Institute of the French city of Strasbourgh
also picked up the earthquake and placed it at 6.3 Richter.
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- Within a three hour time span there were at least three
sudden movements, causing buildings in Catamarca to crack and masonry to
crumble off a local school.
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- Several children were lightly injured but "everything
is under control and we have vacated offices and asked people to go home"
said a local security official to television crews.
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- In the city of Corrientes it was necessary to evacuate
the Court House, and similar measures were taken in
- Salta, Tucumán, Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja, Santiago
del Estero, San Luis, Santa Fe and Córdoba.
-
- It was also necessary to evacuate tall buildings in Buenos
Aires, including the city center, where perceiving such phenomena is rare.
There was alarm and surprise, and some people in tall buildings claimed
feeling dizzy, but nothing worse.
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- In Mar del Plata, 400 km to the south, authorities caused
the Court House--an 11 storey building--to be vacated in view of the panic
among the structure's occupants.
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- The quake's epicenter was located at -28.88 degrees latitude
and -65.60 degrees longitude at 11:53 GMT.
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- Translation (c) 2004. Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic
Ufology. Special thanks to Liliana Núñez
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