Image below from The Star shows vehicles along a highway that collapsed during the earthquake near Santiago are seen overturned on the asphalt.
- The quake hit 200 miles (325 kilometres) southwest of the capital, Santiago, at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometres) at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT; 1:34 a.m. EST), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Below sharing some details from The Star.. 8.8-magnitude earthquake hits central Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific (Update 6)
- The epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometres) from Concepcion.
- A huge wave swept into a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles (660 kilometres) off the Chilean coast.
- Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area, including South America, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and many Pacific islands.
- In the 2 1/2 hours following the 90-second quake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported 11 aftershocks, five of them measuring 6.0 or above.
- The airport for Chile's capital of Santiago airport was shut down and will remain closed for at least the next 24 hours.
- In Santiago, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many older ones were heavily damaged.
- President Michele Bachelet said she was declaring a "state of catastrophe" in three central regions of the country. Chile has not asked for assistance from other countries.
- Several hospitals were evacuated due to earthquake damage.
Maps of Chile earthquake courtesy of NY Times
- Click to enlarge
Related articles:
Chile earthquake generates cross-Pacific tsunami
Asia braces for tsunami after Chile quake
Australia on tsunami watch following Chile quake
Oh dear another huge quake after Haiti. tQ
ReplyDeletewas having dinner when a friend read that from the hot breaking news from the paper.. this is saddening, in just another month there's another devastating earthquake..
ReplyDelete8.8 magnitude is a huge shook-up. I hope the nation recovers quickly.
ReplyDeleteI read about it too. Just hope that the Tsunami will not happen. :(
ReplyDeleteToo much disasters these days.
ReplyDeleteRead an article on the newspapers today, it says that Chile will have a less hard time to rebuild compared to Haiti, as it's one of the better off countries in the region. The buildings in Chile are also more structurally suited to guard against tsunami.
Nonetheless, I hope Chile raise their hands if they really need help.
Yeah, I read that too and thankfully, the country is coping well. But because of better building standards and because the epicenter was farther from populated areas, the scale of the damage from Chile’s significantly more powerful earthquake was nowhere near that suffered in Haiti, where more than 200,000 people are believed to have died...according to NY Times.
ReplyDeleteLooting is inevitable but it's good that the government had reached a deal with supermarket chains to give away food to needy residents. Enforcement authorities settled on a system to allow staples to be taken but not televisions and other electronic goods. It was reported there were more than 100 aftershocks, one of which was a 6.1. Scary, huh?