5.22.2010

Sunday, May 22, 1960: The Great Chilean Earthquake

The most powerful earthquake ever recorded, magnitude 9.5, struck the south-central coast of Chile. Its force was such that 15 hours later tsunami waves devastated Hilo, Hawaii, and two days later the Puyuhue volcano, about 125 miles from the epicenter, erupted. The death toll was relatively small (estimates range from 2,000 to 6,000), owing to the low population density and the prevalence of earthquake-resistant structures.

* Summary and links from U.S. Geological Survey: @
* Impacted areas: @
* Commemorative website (translated from Spanish): @
* Travel time of tsunami waves (in hours): @


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