Great Chilean Earthquake - Definition and Overview

The Great Chilean Earthquake of May 22, 1960 is the largest magnitude earthquake in recorded history. Striking at 19:11 UTC (early afternoon local time), it measured 9.5 magnitude and affected southern Chile.

There had been a swarm of earthquakes of magnitude as large as 8 about 100 miles to the north the previous day.

Its epicenter was located in Valdivia, approximately 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of Santiago. The earthquake caused a tsunami that ran through the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii, 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) from the epicenter, as well as coastal regions of South America. The total number of fatalities from the earthquake/tsunami combination was estimated to have been as many as 3,000.

Despite the record strength of the earthquake, more people were killed by tsunamis than by the earthquake.

External links

• USGS report on the earthquake (http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/world/1960_05_22.html)
• Chilean earthquake and tsunami (http://www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/chilean60.html)
• USGS: Chilean earthquake: surviving the tsunamis (http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/)

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