CHILI EARTHQUAKE - 8.8

OFFSHORE

MORE THAN 187 AFTERSHOCKS SO FAR
TEN AS LARGE AS 6.9
ONE AS FAR SOUTH AS A 6.3 IN ARGENTINA

2-27-10

Experts say that the big quake moved the earth by 3 inches
and shortened the day by 1.26 microseconds.

AFTERSHOCK MAP

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/aftershocks/?code=2010tfan&source=us&title=M8.8%20-%20Offshore%20Maule,%20Chile

DAMAGE 300 MILES AWAY IN SANTIAGO

    

 

IF YOU HAVE THE GOOGLE-EARTH PROGRAM
IT SHOWS ALL THE QUAKES FROM TODAY INDIVIDUALLY WITH ALL THE DETAILS FROM USGS
 

DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO INCREASE - NOW  799

A 15 STORY BUILDING HAS COMPLETELY COLLAPSED - over 2,000,000 buildings damaged counted in the first day after the biggest quake.

AFTERSHOCKS CONTINUE - FLOORS IN BUILDINGS ARE SO UNSTABLE - PEOPLE CAN'T STAND UP

MANY BUILDINGS BUILT BEFORE 1960 HAVE COLLAPSED

REPORTS ARE COMING IN OF TRAPPED PEOPLE - many people missing

SANTE DOMINGO CHURCH HAS COLLAPSED

NO ELECTRICITY - NO RUNNING WATER

LARGE FIRES HAVE BROKEN OUT

SOME BRIDGES AND ROADWAYS HAVE COMPLETELY COLLAPSED

THE JAIL IS ON FIRE - some inmates escaped - they aren't looking for them right now apparently

THE BRIDGE BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH CHILI HAS FALLEN

TSUNAMI WARNING FOR HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Deep ocean buoys predicting many tsunamis (multiple waves which could  last for up to 6-10 hours after the 1st one hits) generated from a  Chile Earthquake 8.8 this evening. Civil defense warnings are on TV - 
All islands and the entire Island shorelines will be affected.

Warning center says we CAN EXPECT DECENT SIZED TSUNAMIS TO HIT HILO  BAY AND ALL WRAP AROUND ISLAND SHORELINES -

More info from Charles McCreary: flooding and damage possible for low lying coastline. Largest tsunami to cross the pacific since the Alaskan tsunami in 1964. They will be checking the buoys to tell  height, speed, and number of waves.They will bend around the islands and create odd wave patterns as they  continue to hit. This will be a danger to the coastline. No one should be hurt since there is so much time in advance.

Scheduled evacuation 6am Saturday morning. Sirens should start going  off then.

Please pray for Hawaii, Chile and for all pacific coast areas that 
will be affected by this.
Aloha - Anna


EVERYONE WAS EVACUATED PRIOR TO THE TSUNAMI - WHICH WAS EVIDENT EVEN ON TELEVISION - THE HEIGHT WAS VARIOUS HEIGHTS AND NOTED MOSTLY IN THE RIVER AS IT SWELLED UPSTREAM AND BROUGHT MUDDY WATER WITH IT FROM THE OCEAN.
VARIOUS HEIGHTS MENTIONED FROM 1.6m to 7 feet.

JAPAN ALSO ON TSUNAMI WATCH.  THE TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED TO BE LARGER THAN IN HAWAII BECAUSE OF ITS TOPOGRAPHY, HOWEVER WHEN IT ARRIVED, THERE WAS NO DAMAGE AT ALL.  ALL WARNINGS ARE NOW DROPPED.

Massive earthquake hits Chile

THIS IS THE FIRST NEWS ARTICLE TO HIT THE INTERNET:

2-17-10

At least 47 people were reported dead today and large parts of South America put on tsunami alert after one of the biggest earthquakes in modern times struck southern Chile.

 
 

The quake, registered at magnitude 8.8 on the Richter scale, caused buildings and bridges to collapse and led to power-black outs in parts of the Chilean capital, Santiago, 200 miles from the epicentre.

Chile's President Michele Bachelet declares "state of catastrophe" following earthquake.

Eyewitnesses spoke of panicking crowds pouring onto the streets of the city, hugging each other and crying. Telephone and power lines were down, making a quick assessment of the damage difficult in the early morning darkness. The death toll figure was broadcast by Chilean radio, citing reporters on the ground.

Meanwhile the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an official tsunami warning notice to Chile and Peru, and a less severe tsunami "watch" notice to Ecuador.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," the centre said on its website. "It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicentre and could also be a threat to more distant coasts." It was not yet clear how big the tsunami was. Chilean radio stations later reported that the tsunami warning had been lifted.

The earthquake struck at around 3.34am local time (6.43GMT). Its epicentre was just 75 miles from the coastal city of Concepcion, south of Santiago, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.

Concepcion is likely to be the most severely affected city and there were radio reports of collapsed churches and other damage. The impact of the quake was felt as far as 1,000 miles away in Argentina.

Early reports in Santiago, which is around 200 miles north-east of Concepcion, suggested that damage in the capital was not as great as feared. "Things were certainly moving a bit, but no structural damage visible," said one resident in Santiago in a posting on the BBC news website. "Some fires could be seen in the distance. No electricity at the moment or phone lines, but apart from that, so far not so bad."

In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900. The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island 2,300 miles off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over is classified as a "great" earthquake that can cause "tremendous damage," according to the US Geological Survey website. The earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12 was rated at magnitude 7.0, while the one that struck Indonesia on Boxing Day 2004 measured magnitude 9.2.

The Richter scale is logarithmic, which means that each whole number step on the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy. Numerous powerful aftershocks also hit the region, including one of 6.9 located 130 miles south-west of Concepcion

Tsunami fears after massive Chile quake

A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake has struck near the coast of south-central Chile shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital Santiago, 320 kilometres away.

President Michelle Bachelet said 47 people were killed and that more deaths were possible, as the US government reported aftershocks in Chile measuring 6.2, 5.6 and 6.9.

"With the quake of this magnitude, we cannot rule out other casualties," she said.

Telephone and powerlines were down, making a quick damage assessment difficult in the early morning darkness.

A tsunami warning was issued for Chile and Peru by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, and a tsunami watch was issued for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica.

Soon after, the centre said the quake had generated a tsunami that may have been destructive along the Chilean coast near the epicentre.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," the centre said on its website.

"It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicentre and could also be a threat to more distant coasts."

It did not have details on the size of the tsunami.

The USGS has extended a tsunami watch to all of Central America and French Polynesia.

The USGS said the earthquake struck 90 kilometres north-east of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 55 kilometres at 3:34am (local time). Its magnitude was initially reported at 8.3 then 8.5.

People streamed onto the streets of the Chilean capital, more than 320 kilometres north of the epicentre, hugging each other and crying, a witness reported.

Local television stations said there was damage to buildings in the historic centre of Santiago and a highway bridge collapsed near the capital.

Buildings shook and there were blackouts in parts of the city. A witness reported very strong shaking lasting for 10 to 30 seconds.

CNN Chile president Rolando Santos says, with first light, the scale of the damage is beginning to emerge in Santiago.

"A lot of collapsed buildings, a lot of people on the streets of Santiago - to be out of the buildings because of the aftershocks. I lost count at 25 aftershocks," he said.

"The initial hit was at 3:34 this morning ... one minute I'm in bed, and the next minute I'm on the floor and everything is coming off the walls.

"I'm a big man - about 120 kilos - when I left my apartment to come to the office there was not a single thing on the shelves."

Mr Santos says the shaking was so violent, he was knocked out of bed and onto the floor.

"It was pretty clear because of the length of the earthquake that it was going to be a major earthquake. The city almost immediately went dark ... everything went black," he said.

"And the earthquake lasted ... 45 seconds to almost a minute. I've been through some quakes in San Francisco and this was one of the worst."

The international airport in Santiago has been closed and all flights have been cancelled until further notice, airline officials in Brazil and Peru have said.

A national emergency official told local radio the government was evaluating damage in and around Concepcion.

The Philippines' government has warned coastal communities on the eastern side of the archipelago to prepare for possible tsunami evacuation.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake could generate a destructive tsunami that could hit coastlines on the western Pacific.

"No evacuation order is in effect but communities along the east coast of the country are advised to wait for further information and to prepare for possible evacuation," the government institute said in an advisory.

"Coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean ... should keep watch," the advisory said.

The quake struck hours after the southern Japanese island of Okinawa was hit buy a powerful earthquake.

The 7.0 magnitude quake was measured at a depth of 22 kilometres and was centred 81 kilometres east south-east of Naha in Okinawa, the USGS said.

Minor tsunami tidal waves were observed in the southern Japanese island after the quake but there were no reports of damage.

But Japan's meteorological agency also warned that a tsunami might be generated from the Chilean quake.

"There is a possibility that tsunami will widely occur in the Pacific Ocean," an agency official said.

"We are now checking if tsunami may hit Japanese coastal areas."

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over is classified as a "great" earthquake that can cause "tremendous damage," according to the USGS website.

The earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12 was rated at magnitude 7.0.

According to a 2002 census, Concepcion is one of the largest cities in Chile with a population of around 670,000. The quake knocked out power in nearby coastal areas.

The quake struck far from Chile's copper-producing northern region. Chile is the world's biggest producer of copper, its main export, producing about 34 per cent of world supply of the metal, which is used in electronics, cars and refrigerators.

In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900, USGS data shows.

The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island 3,700 kilometres off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

- Reuters/AFP

Tags: disasters-and-accidents, earthquake, chile

First posted 3 hours 52 minutes ago

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 47 people, knocking down buildings and triggering a tsunami.
Chile
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquaked struck near Concepcion, Chile, early Saturday, causing shaking buildings and blackouts in Santiago, the nation's capital.

President Michelle Bachelet confirmed 47 deaths and said more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making damage assessments difficult in the early morning darkness.

"Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET).

Chilean television and radio stations said several buildings collapsed in the city of Curico and that there was damage to buildings in the historic center of the capital Santiago, about 200 miles north of the epicenter.

The capital's international airport was forced to close, a highway bridge collapsed and chunks of buildings fell into the street.

In the moments after the quake, people streamed onto the streets of the capital, hugging each other and crying.

There were blackouts in parts of Santiago and communications were still down in the area closest to the epicenter.

Bachelet urged people to stay calm. "With a quake of this size we undoubtedly can't rule out more deaths and probably injuries," she said.

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over can cause "tremendous damage," the USGS says. The quake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12 was rated magnitude 7.0.

TSUNAMI

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the Chile quake generated a tsunami that may have been destructive along the coast near the epicenter "and could also be a threat to more distant coasts."

It issued a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru, and a tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica. Chile's navy said officials had lifted the tsunami warning in southern Chile, local radio reported.

According to a 2002 census, Concepcion is one of the largest cities in Chile with a population of around 670,000.

Chile's main copper producing region and some of the world's largest copper mines are in the far north of the country near its border with Peru, but there are also major copper deposits near Santiago. Officials said roads to the important Los Bronces mine near the capital were blocked.

Chile produces about 34 percent of world supply of copper, which is used in electronics, cars and refrigerators.

In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900.

The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island 2,300 miles off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

Saturday's quake shook buildings as far away as Argentina's Andean provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. A series of strong aftershocks rocked Chile's coastal region from Valdivia in southern to Valparaiso, about 500 miles to the north.

The tsunami warning center said there was a possibility the U.S. state of Hawaii could be elevated to watch or warning status.

(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Kieran Murray)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved.

The world's strongest earthquakes

By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Saturday, February 27, 2010; 4:54 AM

-- Here is a list of deadly earthquakes that registered at least an 8.5 magnitude, not including the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile early Saturday.
- May 22, 1960: A magnitude 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile and ensuing tsunami killed at least 1,716 people.

- March 27, 1964: A magnitude 9.2 quake in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and ensuing tsunami killed 128 people.

- Dec. 26, 2004: A magnitude 9 quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 12 countries, including 165,700 in Indonesia and 35,400 in Sri Lanka.

- August 13, 1868: A magnitude 9.0 quake in Arica, Peru (now Chile) generated catastrophic tsunamis; more than 25,000 people were killed in South America.

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- January 31, 1906: A magnitude 8.8 quake off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia generated a tsunami that killed at least 500 people.

- November 1, 1755: A magnitude 8.7 quake and ensuing tsunami in Lisbon, Portugal killed an estimated 60,000 people and destroyed much of Lisbon.

- July 8, 1730: A magnitude 8.7 quake in Valparasio, Chile, killed at least 3,000 people.

- August 15, 1950: A magnitude 8.6 earthquake in Assam, Tibet, killed at least 780 people.

- June 15, 1896: A magnitude 8.5 quake Sanriku, Japan, caused a tsunami that killed at least 22,000 people.

- November 11, 1922: A magnitude 8.5 quake on the Chile-Argentina border killed several hundred people.

- November 7, 1837: A magnitude 8.5 magnitude quake in Valdivia, Chile generated a tsunami that killed at least 58 people in Hawaii.

- October 20, 1687: A magnitude 8.5 quake in Lima, Peru destroyed much of the city.

----

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and WHO's International Disaster Database

Tsunami threatens Hawaiian islands: U.S. agency

WASHINGTON
Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:40am EST

Related News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A tsunami was generated on Saturday that could cause damage along the coasts of all the Hawaiian islands, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

U.S.  |  Natural Disasters

"Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property," the center said in a bulletin. "All shores are at risk no matter which direction they face."

Earlier, the center had issued a Pacific-wide tsunami warning that included Hawaii and stretched across the ocean from South America to the Pacific Rim.

The warnings followed a massive earthquake in Chile that killed at least 76 people and triggered tsunamis up and down the coast of the earthquake-prone country.

The center estimated the first tsunami wave would hit Hawaii at 11:19 a.m. Hawaii time (4 a.m. EST). Waves up to 16 feet could hit the coast, center officials said.

"A tsunami is a series of long ocean waves. A wave crest can last 5 to 15 minutes or more and extensively flood coastal areas," the center said.

(Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Vicki Allen)

U.S.
Natural Disasters
 

Death Toll, Looting Grow in Post-Quake Chile

Michelle Ruiz Contributor

(Feb. 28) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Sunday that the death toll has climbed to 708 people and is expected to rise further in the wake of Saturday's devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake, which displaced a reported 2 million people and sent a tsunami rippling across the Pacific.

In the city of Constitucion, more than 60 bodies were found and placed in a makeshift morgue inside the gym of a local school, a federal police officer told CNN.

"The catastrophe is enormous," Bachelet said at a news conference Sunday, adding that her declared "state of catastrophe" would continue as the Chilean air force flies basic supplies to the hardest-hit regions of Maule and Biobio. She called the quake an "unthinkable disaster."
 
AP
 
Police search for victims Sunday in the wreckage of Pelluhue, about 200 miles southwest of Santiago, one day after a monster 8.8-magnitude struck Chile.

Brachelet also authorized the army to manage security in the heavily damaged city of Concepcion, where looters descended on supermarkets and electronic stores and police fought them with tear gas and water cannons, according to published reports.

Concepcion Mayor Jacqueline van Rysselberghe condemned the looting as "unjustifiable" on a Chilean radio station, but argued that the government was too slow in sending food and water. One man looting at a supermarket told Reuters he was simply trying to get food.

"People have gone days without eating," Orlando Salazar said. "The only option is to come here and get stuff for ourselves."

Looters reportedly cleared the contents of a shopping mall in San Pedro, even robbing ATM machines and siphoning gas from underground tanks, according to The Associated Press.

"It was a mob. They looted everything," said police Sgt. Rene Gutierrez, 46, who had his men guarding the now-empty mall. "Now we're only here to protect the building -- what's left of the building."

Curfews were imposed on two struggling areas Sunday, including Concepcion, and Bachelet said grocery store items would be given away for free, under military supervision.

As officials attempt to quell the chaos, rescue workers continue to search for signs of life.
 


About 60 people remain trapped in a collapsed 14-story apartment building in Concepcion, where authorities believe another 100 have died in the quake.

Rescue workers labored through the night in their search for survivors in the wreckage of the newly-constructed Rio Alta building, as Mayor van Rysselberghe stressed on national television that "time is of the essence to save the people" who are believed to be trapped.

"It fell at the moment the earthquake began," 4th Lt. Juan Schulmeyer of Concepcion's 7th Firefighter Company, told Reuters of the apartment building. After 24 hours, 23 people were pulled out alive and six bodies were recovered, according to published reports.

After the building shook and began to topple, Alberto Rozas said he and his 7-year-old daughter clung to each other as they fell 13 floors from their apartment, not knowing which way was up.

"The earthquake and the fall were one single, horrible thing," Rozas told The Associated Press on Sunday. "I held onto her and she never let me go."

Another resident, Fernando Abarzua, emerged with no major injuries.

"I was on the eighth floor and all of a sudden I was down here," he told the London Times from the ground floor.

Firefighters reportedly used thermal detectors to search for signs of life in the collapsed building, even as more than 60 aftershocks, including one measured at 6.1-magnitude Sunday, caused the ground to shake in Concepcion.

"We spent the whole night working, smashing through walls to find survivors," Commander Marcelo Plaza told the Times. "The biggest problem is fuel, we need fuel for our machinery and water for our people."

Bachelet said the military would help deliver basic necessities to struggling areas. She also urged people to limit their gas and electric use, as the nation's power outages continue hampering communications as well as rescue and aid work.

After initially declining offers for international aid, including a pledge of support from U.S. President Barack Obama, Bachelet said Sunday she would accept some of the offers.

"This will take a great effort from all sectors, public and private," she said, adding that Chile is now in dire need of aid workers, field hospitals, temporary bridges, and damage assessment experts.

Across Concepcion and its outskirts, survivors took stock of what remains in the rubble. The National Office of Emergency reported 2 million people have been displaced by the earthquake, with more than a million homes damaged or destroyed. Rescue workers and citizens alike relied on sledgehammers and shovels to dig through the wreckage, searching not only for loved ones, but for food and supplies.

"I lost my bed," one Chilean woman told ABC News. "I lost everything. All I have is the clothes on my back."
Filed under: World, Top Stories

 

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