Most Terrifying Natural Disasters In History: 1960 Chile Earthquake

The most powerful earthquake ever recorded struck near Valdivia, Chile on May 22, 1960, at 2:11 PM local time. As many as 6,000 people were killed. Many more would have been, had it not been for Chile’s preparedness for earthquakes, and the remote location of the epicenter.

Eyewitnesses reported that the entire world appeared as if God had seized one end of it like a rope, and slung it as hard as he could. 40% of the houses in Valdivia were razed to the ground. Cordon Caulle, a nearby active volcano, was ripped open and forced to erupt.

The quake measured 9.5 in magnitude, and 35 foot high waves were recorded 6,000 miles away. Of all the seismic energy of the 20th Century, including the 2004 Indian Ocean quake, 25% was concentrated in the 1960 Chile quake.

It caused 82 foot high waves to travel down the Chilean coast. Hilo, Hawaii was destroyed. The quake possessed twice the surface energy yield the 2004 Indian Ocean quake, and equalled 178 billion tons of TNT. This would have powered the entire United States, at 2005 energy consumption levels, for 740 years.

Chile Earthquake Amateur Videos!

An amateur video of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile on the 27th February.

This video has been made by french people in the place. One of them speaks at the end : Sebastien Michellod. Read more …

8.8 Earthquake in Chile - 8 Horror Pictures

SANTIAGO, Chile — Saturday’s massive quake left a Utah man vacationing in Chile in fear for his life.

Francisco “Pancho” Ovalle, a full-time youth coach who works for La Roca Soccer Club in northern Utah, was spending the night at a friend’s seventh-floor apartment near downtown Santiago when the rumbling started.

A native Chilean who is accustomed to occasional small temblors, Ovalle remembered the quake’s initial wave feeling fairly mild. Seconds later, the shaking turned violent. Read more …

Earthquake In Chile - Incredible Horror Images!

Earthquake In Chile - Incredible Horror Pictures!

Tsunami Watch Generated by the Earthquake in Chile Unbelievable Video!

Tsunami Watch 2010 Newport Beach Pier, California. February 27, 2:30 pm. We head down to the beach after lunch to take a walk on the beach and look for signs of the Tsunami. The rain has passed and there is some blue sky between the clouds. What a beautiful afternoon. It is a -1.37 low tide and 2-4 foot waves with a building WNW Swell. It should be good surfing tomorrow morning if the wind cooperates. It is hard to tell any signs of the Tsunami that was generated by the earthquake in Chile.

Our best thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile and we will do what we can to help.

Animation of Chile Tsunami across Pacific Ocean!

The Chile tsunami was generated by a Mw 8.8 earthquake (35.846°S, 72.719°W ), at 06:34 UTC, 115 km (60 miles) NNE of Concepcion, Chile. www.WeatherWatch.co.nz. The tsunami was first recorded at DART® buoy 32412. Forecast results shown below were created with the NOAA forecast method using MOST model with the tsunami source inferred from DART® data. The tsunami waves first arrived at Valparaiso, Chile (approximately 330 km northeast from earthquake epicenter ) earlier than other tide gages, at 0708UTC, about 34 minutes after the earthquake.

Thank you to NOAA Center for Tsunami Research for providing this video.

Massive 8.8-Magnitude Quake Hits Chile - 10 Horror Videos Compilation

TALCA, Chile—Shell-shocked Chileans struggled to deal with the aftermath of a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that ripped through the southern half of the country early Saturday morning, killing at least 300 people as it shook the country for more than a minute.

The quake, one of the biggest ever measured, struck just after 3:30 a.m. local time, toppling buildings, collapsing roads and cutting off power and telecommunications services. At least ten aftershocks hit the region in the hours after the initial quake—felt 2,000 miles away in Sao Paulo, Brazil—and waves that swelled more than six feet above their normal height battered the country’s long coastline, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Read more …