STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF TSUNAMI ON THE COASTAL CITIES OF THE REGION OF TARAPACA, NORTH CHILE

In historical times, destructive tsunami have been generated near the coasts of the south of Peru and north Chile by earthquakes of magnitude up to 8.5. Since an earthquake of this kind is expected for that zone, the occurrence of a tsunami is also probable. In that case, the coastal cities of Tarapaca would be heavily affected. Since the travel time is of extreme importance for the evacuation of people from areas subjected to flooding, the standard method for evaluation of travel time, using the refraction diagram of a theoretical tsunami with its initial front located entirely at the sea, should be modified in order to consider rupture zones that are partially located inland and that thus have shorter travel times. The areas of Arica and Iquique that would be flooded by such a tsunami are estimated from historical reports and from the topography of these cities. Some considerations on counter measures against tsunami attack at the ports of Arica, Pisagua and Iquique are presented.