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Massive Magnitude 8.8 Quake Hits Chile, Generating Tsunami

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Fortunately this occurred some 34 miles from the nearest city which is Cauquenes, a city in Chile, is the capital of Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region.

The population is around 45,000 so the potential for massive death like what occurred in Haiti is not there. But still this quake was much stronger by far that the one the 7.0 that devastated Port-au-Prince and killed so many.

Thank God we here near the San Andreas are still waiting for the big one I for one hope never comes since the fault is only 6 miles away.

The only major City in California with out a history of massive quake damage from I can see is San Diego.

I know the old adobe Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala built in 1769 by Padre Junipero Serra was moved but is still intact today

From what I can figure this quake was 56.88 times stronger than the Haiti quake. That is a bunch. Every full point is 31.6 times stronger than the previous point on the scale.

Massive Magnitude 8.8 Quake Hits Chile, Killing at Least 6 - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

BREAKING NEWS — A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake capable of tremendous damage struck central Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital for a minute and half and setting off a tsunami. Buildings collapsed and phone lines and electricity were down, making the extent of the damage difficult to determine.

The quake hit 200 miles southwest of the capital, Santiago, and at a depth of 22 miles at 3:34 a.m., the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Its epicenter was just 70 miles from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.

Buildings shook and collapsed in Santiago. With phone lines down, confirmation of damage was difficult elsewhere, especially further south toward the epicenter. The quake was felt in Argentina as well.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Chile and Peru, and a less-urgent tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts," the center said.

The U.S. west coast tsunami warning center said it did not expect a tsunami along the west of the U.S. or Canada but was continuing to monitor the situation.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage to the west coast of the United States.
 
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They currently believe around 80 people have been killed. The damage seems extraordinary, but it might be a while before there are any steadfast estimations.
 
8.8!? Holy crap.

The Richter Scale is an exponential one. 8.0 is ten times stronger than 7.0.

That's like armageddon-scale.
 
Hilo Bay Web Cam (about the first place it would hit), and the home of the Tsunami Center:

The Pacific Tsunami Museum Hilo Bay Webcam

This camera is showing a live video stream of Hilo Bay
from the rooftop of the Pacific Tsunami Museum.

May have to download 'axiscam' just below picture.

Prediction is First wave could hit 11:19 AM Local time- to as late as 4PM, depending on where.

I have friends who are already evacuating.
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Such a beautiful place being devastated by this awful side of nature.
 
8.8!? Holy crap.

The Richter Scale is an exponential one. 8.0 is ten times stronger than 7.0.

That's like armageddon-scale.

I've just heard twice on the news that the quake in Chile was 500 to 1000x more powerful than the one in Haiti, doesn't seem right..
 
I've just heard twice on the news that the quake in Chile was 500 to 1000x more powerful than the one in Haiti, doesn't seem right..

It's Right.

8.0 is 32x stronger than 7.0 of Haiti
9.0 would be 32x32 or 1024x stronger

8.8 would be app ±700x stronger
 
Watching the live feed from Hawaii.

I have to say, I'm not very impressed with the Tsunami so far...

Someone call Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich...

In all seriousness, I hope everyone in Hawaii stays safe...:)
 
It's Right.

8.0 is 32x stronger than 7.0 of Haiti
9.0 would be 32x32 or 1024x stronger

8.8 would be app ±700x stronger

Well I guess we should be glad that the stronger quake hit in the richer country. Hopefully we see a lot less loss of life here.
 
8.8!? Holy crap.

The Richter Scale is an exponential one. 8.0 is ten times stronger than 7.0.

That's like armageddon-scale.

It's not referred to the Richter Scale anymore.


800 X more powerful than Haiti.

I'm curious how deep the quake was. Not hearing anywhere. I guess I'll have to look it up. The depth of the quake has a direct bearing on the Tsunami.
 
Tsunami Advisory for San Francisco, CA

Excerpted from “Tsunami Advisory for San Francisco, CA” Issued by The National Weather Service, West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, AK, 4:54 pm PST, Sat., Feb. 27, 2010
... [size="+2"]A[/size] TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE OREGON-CALIFORNIA BORDER...

PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS.

TSUNAMI ADVISORIES MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR WATER IS IMMINENT OF EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD INUNDATION IS NOT EXPECTED FOR AREAS IN AN ADVISORY. TSUNAMIS ARE A SERIES OF WAVES POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SEVERAL HOURS AFTER INITIAL ARRIVAL TIME. …

A quarter of the planet and it's people has been directly touched by Chile's tragedy today.
 
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Chile Earthquake pictures from Twitter Picked up ny HuffingtonPost:

Chile Earthquake PICTURES: Twitter Photos Record The Wreckage In Chile
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Thatsfamous-Chile-earthquake.jpg


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The 'Broken Building' that may become one of the legacy pictures of this quake.

slide_5188_71401_large.jpg

Same Building from post/link just below.
chile2.jpg
 
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Those pictures are scary stuff. I can't imagine the fear of living through something like this.
 
Chile is no stranger to these strong earthquakes.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake]1960 Valdivia earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Let's pray for those in the country who are going through this.
 
I was thinking it seems like we are getting more powerful earthquakes than usual. Either that or I am just being forgetful.
 
I was thinking it seems like we are getting more powerful earthquakes than usual. Either that or I am just being forgetful.

Yeah, you're just being forgetful. This is nothing new for Chile. There was once a 9 point something earthquake in Alaska.
 
Yeah, you're just being forgetful. This is nothing new for Chile. There was once a 9 point something earthquake in Alaska.

Well part of me is glad that I am being forgetful. On the other hand my ability to not remember things at the ripe old age of 21 is kind of scary.
 
Even in the massive devastation The death toll remains very low in comparison to Haiti.
Many people have the quake figured wrong so I stuck to the math and now an expert agrees.
The main thing and the good news is so far they are sayin only 300 killed, and God for that relatively small number.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/6904292.html
Chile's earthquake 50 times stronger than Haiti's: expert
Science Chief of the Seismology Institute of the University of Chile, Sergio Barrientos said on Saturday that the 8.8-degrees earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday morning was "50 times bigger than the one of Haiti."

The earthquake occurred at 3:34 a.m. local time. The epicenter was only 115 km from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city with a population of 200,000 people and it was felt 1,600 kilometers away.

According to local TV channel TVN, in Concepcion "there are no streets without rubble" and the regional hospital "began to evacuate the patients for the fear of it collapsing."

Press reports said that government building of Concepcion completely collapsed, as well as hundreds of houses.

Concepcion's capital was completely isolated.

Chilean Interior Ministry Edmundo Perez Yoma said that there are serious communication problems in Concepcion.

"We have had many problems, and the deaths continue rising," Perez added.

Meanwhile, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet urged the people to be calmed and has sent three rescue teams to the affected area and decreed many areas of the country as catastrophe zones.

She also said that at least 85 people have been killed in the earthquake .




Rescuers struggle to save lives after Chile quake - Yahoo! News
CONCEPCION, Chile – Rescuers edged their way toward quake victims trapped in a toppled apartment block early Sunday even as looters stole food and robbed banks after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Chile.

Authorities put the death toll from Saturday's magnitude-8.8 quake at about 300, but believed the number would grow. They said 1.5 million Chileans were affected and 500,000 homes severely damaged by the mammoth temblor.

A tsunami caused by the quake that swept across the Pacific killed several people on a Chilean island and devastated over coastal communities near the epicenter, but caused little damage in other countries, after precautionary evacuations of hundreds of thousands of people. The tsunami warning was lifted a day after the earthquake.
 
Comparing it to Haiti's Earthquake is Difficult.

Chile's quake was 800x Stronger, But.....

Haiti's quake was almost Directly (and 6 miles) underneath it's Capital city.

Chile's quake was 70 Miles away from it's second biggest city Concepcion, and app 250 Miles from it's Capital City, Santiago. And 22 miles underground.

So it was distance, more than anything else that saved Chile, despite the strength and breadth of it's quake.

Think about a quake in NYC damaging Buildings and Roads in Washington DC or Boston. (both about 225 miles away) to gauge the power.

LA and SF quakes are typically very localized in comparsion than the 400 mile long Chile Damage zone.
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