Massive 8.8 Magnitude Quake Rocks Chile; Tsunami warnings was issued

[george]

USGS Breaking News:

8.8 magnitude quake strikes coast and central Chile. TSUNAMI warning issued for Chile & Peru, TSUNAMI watch for Ecuador.

Washington - A magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Saturday near Chile's second-largest city, Concepcion, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake hit at 3:34 am (0634 GMT) in the Pacific, 90 kilometres north-north-east of Concepcion in central Chile or 320 kilometres south-west of Santiago, the agency said. It occurred at a depth of 60 kilometres.

A tsunami warning was issued for Chile's entire coast as well as for its northern neighbour, Peru.

Reports of casualties or damage were not immediately available, but CNN said electricity had gone out in Santiago.

-- Agencies 2010-02-27

UPDATE:

A tsunami has been generated by Chile quake that could impact large areas of Pacific and the U.S. west coast & Alaska.

Update: some buildings collapse in Santiago, phone lines down especially near the epicenter, quake was felt in Argentina

Update 15:46 BKK time: President Michelle Bachelet says 6 deaths confirmed so far after quake, much damage - BNO News

Update: Japan's meterological agancy warned tsunami might be generated in large areas of the Pacific.

-- Source USGS and CNN 2010-02-27

[george]

Massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocks Chile; one dead; Tsunami warning for USA

February 27th, 2010 - 3:14 pm ICT by BNO News

SANTIAGO, CHILE (BNO NEWS) — A massive earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile on Saturday, seismologists said, causing at least one dead.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 8.8, was centered about 60 miles northwest of Chillan and 200 miles southwest of Santiago, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck at a depth of 21.7 miles at 03.34 a.m. local time.

The capital, Santiago, was without power and phone lines after the earthquake. Reports say there are several buildings damaged in Santiago and one official told Chilean national TV that there was confirmation of one people dead at this time.

A tsunami warning is in effect for Chile and Peru, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. A tsunami watch is in effect for Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama.

A tsunami may have been generated that could potentially impact the U.S. west coast, British Columbia, and Alaska, the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said in an urgent bulletin. The center added that is investigating the event to determine the level of danger.

-- BNONEWS 2010-02-27

[churchill]

"A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck near the coast of south-central Chile early on Saturday, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital Santiago, 200 miles away.

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

Soon after, the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had generated a tsunami that may have been destructive along the Chilean coast near the epicenter.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35615455/ns/world_news-americas/

[churchill]

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru. The center recorded a tsunami wave as high as 9 feet.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas...uake/index.html

[Moonrakers]

8.8 is huge.

[churchill]

Tsunami Travel Times

http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2010/02/27/7252...vu725245-02.jpg

[thanuhak]

Believe this the largest in recorded history for Chile - 8.8 - yes?

A tsunami has been generated by Chile quake that could impact large areas of Pacific and the U.S. west coast & Alaska.

[AGareth2]

8.8 is big

hope the damage is limited

[churchill]

Updated Tsunami information here http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/?region=1&amp...10.02.27.084258

[saintofsilence]

Imagine what the aftershocks could be for 8.8 the largest one that hit Chile before that was 9.2 this can have drastic effects

[PoorSucker]

Believe this the largest in recorded history for Chile - 8.8 - yes?

A tsunami has been generated by Chile quake that could impact large areas of Pacific and the U.S. west coast & Alaska.

Chile holds the record for the largest earthquake in the world, according to the USGS. A magnitude 9.5 quake struck the South American country in May 1960 and killed 1,655 people.

Source: cnn.com

Edited February 27, 2010 by PoorSucker

[Phuket_Brad]

Believe this the largest in recorded history for Chile - 8.8 - yes?

A tsunami has been generated by Chile quake that could impact large areas of Pacific and the U.S. west coast & Alaska.

Chile holds the record for the largest earthquake in the world, according to the USGS. A magnitude 9.5 quake struck the South American country in May 1960 and killed 1,655 people.

[Graphics]

Ouch, I used to live in Santiago. Still remember a few times my building was shaking. Hope there afterwards there's not much damage.

[george]

UPDATE:

BNONEWS: USGS reports two additional quakes of 6.2 and 5.4 in magnitude near epicenter of 8.8 quake off Chile coast

[ManilaLover]

8.8 is big

hope the damage is limited

Yes... hopefully not same impact as Haïti that could be a real problem for all who just gave huge donations.

[Jingthing]

UPDATE:

BNONEWS: USGS reports two additional quakes of 6.2 and 5.4 in magnitude near epicenter of 8.8 quake off Chile coast

Those are most likely aftershocks. However, sometimes a series of quakes precede an even bigger quake.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Jingthing

[nakhonites]

Ouch, I used to live in Santiago. Still remember a few times my building was shaking. Hope there afterwards there's not much damage.

The worry now is any tsunami generated hitting elsewhere in the Pacific. The 9.5 magnitude Chilean earthquake tsunami of 1960 killed hundreds in Hawaii and japan. I hope the tsunami early warning systems work!

[thanuhak]

Believe this the largest in recorded history for Chile - 8.8 - yes?

A tsunami has been generated by Chile quake that could impact large areas of Pacific and the U.S. west coast & Alaska.

Chile holds the record for the largest earthquake in the world, according to the USGS. A magnitude 9.5 quake struck the South American country in May 1960 and killed 1,655 people.

Thanks for the update - 8.8 bad enough; can't imagine 9.5!

[Moonrakers]

Ouch, I used to live in Santiago. Still remember a few times my building was shaking. Hope there afterwards there's not much damage.

The worry now is any tsunami generated hitting elsewhere in the Pacific. The 9.5 magnitude Chilean earthquake tsunami of 1960 killed hundreds in Hawaii and japan. I hope the tsunami early warning systems work!

I suspect that the size of this quake is an early warning system in itself.

[Jingthing]

There seems to be an escalation of great earthquakes recently. Hmmmm. Some people are surprised to learn of some of the world cities at risk of great earthquakes someday. Everyone knows LA and San Francisco will get hit one day, but generally people don't know New York City is also under threat.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Jingthing

[TerraPosse]

Wasn't the strongest ever measured earthquake (so far that is) also of the coast of Chile?

[Rainmon]

Thats a very large quake, hope injuries are few...

[paulfr]

8.8 is huge.

Sure is.

According to Wikipedia it is the 4th largest in the world

in the last 100 years.

Chile also had the largest in 1960 at 9.5, but only 6000 died.

China lost 87,000 people in 2008 to a 7.9 and

Pakistan lost 73,000 people in 2005 to a 7.6

And of course we all here know of the Indonesia quake/tsunami

which took 250,000 souls.

The numbers for this one are not likley to be small.

Carpe Diem

[nakhonites]

Wasn't the strongest ever measured earthquake (so far that is) also of the coast of Chile?

Yes, 1960 and it was 9.5 which is a lot more (the scale being logarithmic) than the 9.3 earthquake off of Sumatra that caused the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 300,000 from Sumatra to Thailand to Sri Lanka.

[Igor]

Believe this the largest in recorded history for Chile - 8.8 - yes?

I think Chile had a 9.5 back in the sixties.

[ManilaLover]

It's happening right below us... Thailand and Chile are almost exact antipodes

antipode map

Edited February 27, 2010 by ManilaLover

[elektrified]

8.8 is huge! I lived through the 1994 Northridge (Los Angeles) earthquake which was 6.7. It caused USD $150,000.00 in damages to my house and I lost well over USD $100,00.00 in personal property. It was very scary with fires everywhere from broken gas lines. I can't imagine living through a 8.8.

(From Wikipedia)

The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM PST in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 20 seconds. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was one of the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America. Seventy-two deaths were attributed to the earthquake, with over 9,000 injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $20 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

Edited February 27, 2010 by elektrified

[keestha]

Talking about earthquakes, we should never forget the scale is logarithmic and not linear.

Quoted from a US Government website:

" as an estimate of energy, each whole number step in the magnitude scale corresponds to the release of about 31 times more energy than the amount associated with the preceding whole number value. "

[Samuian]

There seems to be an escalation of great earthquakes recently. Hmmmm. Some people are surprised to learn of some of the world cities at risk of great earthquakes someday. Everyone knows LA and San Francisco will get hit one day, but generally people don't know New York City is also under threat.

You got a point there somewhere... let's see..

[ding]

2.3 meter waves reported just now on CNN

Hawaii 'advisory' may get downgraded to a 'watch'

Edited February 27, 2010 by ding