WHAT HAPPENED?
Chile is known for enduring many destructive earthquakes in its history with its location inconveniently situated right on the border of the South America Plate and the Nazca Plate. But it was the 27th of February, 2010, at 3:34am when one of Chile’s most damaging and violent earthquakes shook through central Chile and directly effecting 6 major towns and cities, including San Antonio, Santiago,Talcahuano, Concepción, Rancagua, and Valparaiso; all of which are populated by 13 million people, around 80% of the county’s population.
The mainland of Chile is located on the South American plate, in a highly seismic and volcanic region, also included in the Ring of Fire zone and the cause of this particular earthquake was due to the activity of the convergent boundary of the Nazca plate and South American plate.
The mainland of Chile is located on the South American plate, in a highly seismic and volcanic region, also included in the Ring of Fire zone and the cause of this particular earthquake was due to the activity of the convergent boundary of the Nazca plate and South American plate.
The epicentre of this devastating earthquake was 325 km out at sea, off the coast of the Maule Region, south west of Santiago the capital of Chile and with the magnitude of 8.8 on the Richter Scale, it was by far the worst earthquake to hit Chile ever since its record-breaking earthquake of Valdivia in 1960. The 3 minutes that felt like hours of powerful shaking and quaking caused extensive cost and destruction, from the big cities with large buildings, who collapsed with the vibrations and movement of the grounds holding it; the wide open roads who cracked and split under the built up pressure; to the small homes and villages who did not stand a chance against the magnitude of this quake.
The epicentre of this devastating earthquake was 325 km out at sea, off the coast of the Maule Region, south west of Santiago the capital of Chile and with the magnitude of 8.8 on the Richter Scale, it was by far the worst earthquake to hit Chile ever since its record-breaking earthquake of Valdivia in 1960. The 3 minutes that felt like hours of powerful shaking and quaking caused extensive cost and destruction, from the big cities with large buildings, who collapsed with the vibrations and movement of the grounds holding it; the wide open roads who cracked and split under the built up pressure; to the small homes and villages who did not stand a chance against the magnitude of this quake.
With the fault in the plate out at sea, the tsunami was triggered, causing the bulk of damage and entirely wiping out the coastal town of Constitución and Talcahuano, by waves as high as 15 m. This tsunami sent neighbouring coastal areas, countries and cities bordering the Pacific Ocean, including California, Hawaii, Japan and New Zealand on high alert. The earthquake itself, the aftershocks and the tsunami resulted in a death toll of more than 500 deaths throughout Chile.
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, declared a "state of catastrophe", a government public issue that states that country is in a state of emergency. The cities were also put under curfew and he military troops were sent to the worst affected areas with the hopes of control the area and avoid looting, vandalism and arson.
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, declared a "state of catastrophe", a government public issue that states that country is in a state of emergency. The cities were also put under curfew and he military troops were sent to the worst affected areas with the hopes of control the area and avoid looting, vandalism and arson.
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