Does the central Andean backarc have the potential for a great earthquake?

The region east of the central Andes Mountains has the potential for larger scale earthquakes than previously expected. Previous research had set the maximum expected earthquake size to be magnitude 7.5, based on the relatively quiet history of seismicity in that area. This new study contradicts that limit and instead suggests that the region could see quakes with magnitudes 8.7 to 8.9.

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