Diaster in Chile
Earthquake 1,000 Times More Powerful Than Haitian Disaster Strikes Chile
A strong 8.8-magnitude quake struck Chile early Saturday, shaking
the capital of Santiago for 90 seconds and sending tsunami warnings
from Chile to Ecuador.
At least 47 people were killed, but the death toll is expected to
rise. The quake triggered tsunami waves. The waves can be
destructive for both the Chilean coast and the coastlines of other
countries, particularly Australia and Peru.
Numerous buildings and houses were ruined as a result of the quake.
A bridge connecting the northern and southern parts of the country
collapsed, the Associated Press reports.
The earthquake struck at 3:34 a.m. local time and was centered
about 200 miles southwest of Santiago, at a depth of 22 miles, the U.
S. Geological Survey reported. The epicenter was some 70 miles
from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city, where more than
200,000 people live.
The earthquake in Chile was 1,000 times more powerful than the
magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti on Jan 12 and killed
at least 230,000.
Eyewitnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey reported more than a
dozen aftershocks, including two measuring magnitude 6.2 and 6.9.
The earthquake occurred along the boundary between the Nazca
Plate and the South American Plate. At the location of this
earthquake, the plates converge at 80 mm/year. The coastal part of
Chile has a history of great megathrust earthquakes originating from
this plate boundary, such as the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. More
recently, this plate boundary ruptured at the 2007 Antofagasta
earthquake.
The earthquake is characterized by a thrust-faulting focal
mechanism, caused by the subduction of the Nazca plate under the
South American plate.
Chilean television is reporting at least 64 deaths. With more
casualties possible. The Chilean National Emergency Office Oficina
Nacional de Emergencia estimated that the intensity of the
earthquake was 9 on the Mercalli scale in the Biobío Region and 8 in
Santiago. USGS put the intensity in Santiago and Valparaiso at MM
VI.
In Juan Fernández Islands, situated in the Pacific Ocean about 667
km away from the coast of Chile, local residents reported "a wave of
great size (una ola de gran tamaño)" in the main city, but it still
remains unknown whether there is any damage
Your Help is Needed