A magnitude 7.1 downgraded to a mag 6.9 off the coast of Santiago, Chile, is only the 5th major quake of April 2017 and only the 24th this year so far which is the lowest total for the first 4 months of the year since the 1960’s.
The quake was shallow at 25 km deep and a small tsunami was observed.
Where have all the major quakes gone?
We are into the second half of April yet this year’s total so far is extraordinarily low, 2017 has recorded only 24 quakes of magnitude 6 or higher, this total is the lowest this century by a country mile at this stage of the year, see map below.
USGS
Last year at this stage of the year almost 50 major quakes had been registered, 2015 was a very quiet start to the year but even so still had registered 40 major quakes by April 25th.
USGS
