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World's Strongest Earthquake

Disaster Struck Valdivia Chile on May 22 1960

© Maureen K. Fleury

Apr 16, 2008
NOAA Photo: Earthquake damage Valdivia Chile, Pierre St. Amand Photographer
The Great Chilean Earthquake, the largest seismic event ever recorded, occurred off the south central coast of Chile and caused a devastating tsunami in the Pacific.

On May 22, 1960, the earthquake that struck Valdivia Chile had a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale. This is the strongest earthquake ever recorded by instruments in the world. On the previous day, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck the city of Concepción which is north of Valdivia.

The second strongest earthquake in the world occurred on December 26 2004 and had a magnitude of 9.3. The epicenter was on the ocean floor near the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia and caused a deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

The third strongest earthquake occurred on Good Friday, March 27, 1964 in Alaska, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 struck Prince William Sound and caused extensive damage in Anchorage.

Cause of the 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake

There is a subduction zone where the Chile Ridge oceanic plate is slipping under the South American plate. This was a thrust earthquake because the Chilean Ridge plate moved downward. The epicenter was on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 100 miles off the coast of Chile.

City and Towns Affected by the 1960 Chilean Earthquake

The coastal area of Chile was worst hit from the city of Concepcion spreading southward to Isla Chiloe.

Near the city of Valdivia, several landslides near Tralcan Mountain blocked the outflow of Riñihue Lake. In addition, 18 people were killed and homes were destroyed. The landslides created new challenges which caused immediate action to reinforce dams in the Seven Lakes chain. In the end, the courses of major rivers were changed forever and new lakes were created.

At Valparaiso, many buildings collapsed. Extensive damage was done to the industrial city of Concepcion.

The coastal city of Peurto Montt sunk downward and causing the ocean water to rush in.

The Tsunami Caused by the 1960 Chilean Earthquake

The damage caused by the Tsunami far exceeded the destruction resulting from the earthquake itself. The wall of water spread across the Pacific reaching Hawaii, the Philippines, and even Japan.

Within 10 to 15 minutes after the earthquake, the tsunami waves struck the coast of Chile. Waves of approximately 25 meters high (1 meter = 3.28 feet) smashed the coastline and traveled inland for almost half a mile.

In particular, the south end of Isla Chiloe suffered the worst damage because it was closest to the epicenter. Approximately 200 people were killed in that area alone.

Approximately 15 hours later, the tsunami reached the Hawaiian Islands. There was not much damage to most areas except for the city of Hilo on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii. Ten meter waves wiped out the waterfront and 61 people were killed.

Tsunami waves of similar size hit Japan were 138 people were killed and the Philippines where 32 deaths were reported.

Damage and Death Toll from the 1960 Chilean Earthquake and Tsunami

  • Approximately 130,000 homes and buildings were destroyed.
  • There were 2 million people displaced.
  • The death toll was estimated at 2,000 and 3,000 people injured. (Some sources say as high as 6,000 people killed)
  • Total loss and damage to property was approximately $500 million (1960 valuation)

Since 1960, there have been two earthquakes registering around 8 on the Richter scale. Chile will continue to experience earthquakes because of the subduction activity the South American Plate.

Sources:

  • U.S. Dept. of Commerce Environmental Science Service Administration
  • Extreme Science

The copyright of the article World's Strongest Earthquake in Earthquakes & Avalanches is owned by Maureen K. Fleury. Permission to republish World's Strongest Earthquake in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


NOAA Photo: Earthquake damage Valdivia Chile, Pierre St. Amand Photographer
       


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Comments
Apr 28, 2008 10:12 AM
Guest :
I thought the earthquake in the Indian Ocean was the strongest but I see this one in Chile was even bigger. I guess because it happened a long time ago when news service was not as fast and accurate.
May 2, 2008 10:39 PM
Guest :
this is big
May 7, 2008 11:09 AM
Maureen K. Fleury :
I'm only allowed to publish 400 to 600 words. If you want more information, you should check out the sources I used.
May 7, 2008 3:54 PM
Guest :
What sources?
May 7, 2008 5:01 PM
Guest :
thanks but i already found information but not on your sources
May 12, 2008 7:17 AM
Guest :
nnnnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
i needed this info for a project.
Aug 27, 2008 6:59 PM
Guest :
Does anyone know what happened to the plants or animals in the Tsunami??
I really need this info for a school project.
Sep 12, 2008 9:49 AM
Guest :
i need some info for a essay
Sep 24, 2008 4:03 AM
Guest :
‡t rEaLLy hElpS me ‡n mY Pröject
Tnx 4 da' InfõrmAt‡ön
?Tnx a Löt
Ha ha ha fünny cha‡rman,..!!!
Löve it!
Sep 26, 2008 6:11 AM
Guest :
I need to know everything i can about earthquakes! anyway please tell me if you know any better information..


Alesha
Sep 29, 2008 11:57 AM
Guest :
i needed it for my school work thank you
Nov 18, 2008 12:56 PM
Guest :

HOLY COW!!! I thought only got up to 8.2 as the bigest this will help with the project Thank you Dude from matt an AJ
Nov 19, 2008 12:06 AM
Guest :
‡t rEaLLy hElpS me ‡n mY Pröject
Tnx 4 da' InfõrmAt‡ön
?Tnx a Löt
Ha ha ha fünny cha‡rman,..!!!
Löve it!

Nov 25, 2008 3:20 PM
Guest :
a very helpful website
Dec 1, 2008 9:47 AM
Guest :
good site needed it for coursework
Dec 10, 2008 7:22 AM
Guest :
this helped alot !!!!
Dec 10, 2008 5:13 PM
Guest :
That must of been a big earthquake
Dec 11, 2008 8:59 AM
Guest :
hey what plates were included in the 9.5 earth quake
Dec 14, 2008 11:42 AM
Guest :
This website helped sooooo much with my homework!! Whoever created it should be awarded!!=]
Dec 31, 2008 8:40 AM
Guest :
this earthquake is big. I tell you
Jan 2, 2009 6:17 PM
Guest :
tnx 4 d info!!!
luv it...
+angenarien+
Jan 9, 2009 3:41 AM
Guest :
O.M.G!!! as in oh my gosh I hope we can't experience it here in the Philippines.....

130,000 were the destroyed properties...

2 million peoples were missing.....

2,000 were the death toll....

while 3,000 were injured...

and the total of damages were $500 million in just 1960's valuation..

I hope that will not happen again not only here at the Philippines but also in the other countries.....
Jan 9, 2009 1:34 PM
Guest :
thanks so much for this website. i have a five page essay for my honors english class and this really helped!
Jan 13, 2009 1:10 PM
Guest :
wooooooaaaahhhh, wow. that is bad. i went on here for some info on a science project. that must've sucked. thankx for the info
Jan 14, 2009 8:38 AM
Guest :
thanx for the info... I'm doing a report in my science class on earthquakes and this really helped!!
Jan 22, 2009 5:41 PM
Guest :
This is a very big earthquake in Chile
Jan 23, 2009 12:32 PM
Guest :
NICCEEEEEE
Needed this for science class.
^ ^
$
p
Jan 27, 2009 11:58 AM
Guest :
Our city suffered a lot with this big earthquake, its effects can be seen in our rivers and ruins. But we recovered

Greetings from Valdivia, the most beautiful city in Chile.

www.munivaldivia.cl
www.cdv.cl
Feb 5, 2009 3:31 PM
Guest :
thans alot for you help on work for highschool
Mar 24, 2009 3:07 PM
Guest :
very interesting
Mar 30, 2009 6:26 PM
Guest :
Omg !
this really iiz gunna help me in my project!!
Apr 7, 2009 7:28 PM
Guest :
This info. helped a lot, but are there any more current like in 2009? I really need it for a science project over earthquakes, but i keep looking and i only get the ones like in the 60's
Apr 19, 2009 4:05 PM
Guest :
i used this info for a project
Apr 29, 2009 1:51 PM
Guest :
duuuuuuuuuuude this helped a lot
May 7, 2009 12:13 PM
Guest :
thanks this was great for my science project!!!!
May 11, 2009 8:35 AM
Guest :
Thank you for posting this article it helped my notice that other are less fortante than I am.
Jun 13, 2009 10:21 PM
Guest :
this eartquake is crazy freaky
37 Comments