Accelerographic measurements of the 27 February 2010 offshore Maule, Chile earthquake

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Abstract
The mega earthquake of 27 February 2010, offshore Maule, Chile with moment magnitude of 8·8 is the fifth largest recorded earthquake in the world and, therefore, is considered to be a mega earthquake. This subduction interplate thrust earthquake occurred at the convergence of the Nazca (oceanic) plate with the South American continental plate. This type of earthquake affects the north‐western region of USA and Canada, as well as Alaska. Therefore, it is important to study the characteristics of the recorded accelerograms and their effects on the future behaviour of tall buildings in USA. Although the earthquake produced accelerographic records with very high ground motions in terms of peak ground accelerations and very long duration of ground shaking, the observed damage from this earthquake was more like the level of damage expected from a moment magnitude 8?0 rather than a moment magnitude of 8?8. This may be the result of asperities in the fault rupture surface. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.