Chile Massive Earthquake and Tsunami

[trev]

A 8.8 magnitude earthquake has hit Chile offshore destroying some buildings, causing some deaths and generating tsunami of at least 10 feet, and tsunami watches for countries around much of the Pacific ocean including Australia and japan.

[Berzerker]

I wonder what a wave like that would do to ice shelves ringing Antarctica

[Ben Kenobi]

We have some Chilean posters. Is everyone ok?

[Elok]

Couldn't find a link providing any details about the damage to Chile...hopefully that means the damage was relatively minor.

[SlowwHand]

Sounds bad.

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

Chile quake sparks widespread tsunami alert
Wave threatens every nation around Pacific Ocean, officials say

breaking news
NBC, msnbc.com and news services
updated 14 minutes ago

SANTIAGO, Chile - A devastating earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami set off by the magnitude-8.8 quake threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.

Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said the most powerful quake to hit the country in a half-century killed at least 82 people, but the death toll was rising quickly.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe". Buildings were damaged in the capital Santiago, more than 200 miles away from its epicenter.

At least 23 aftershocks were reported, including one registering at 6.9 on the Richter scale.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET).

Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the USGS told NBC News that the quake released 500 times more energy than the than the one that hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 12. The quake was felt in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is located more than 800 miles away.

Jen Ross, a journalist based in Santiago, told NBC's TODAY that she felt "three minutes of shaking".

Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area, including Hawaii, South America, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and many Pacific islands.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami was generated that could cause damage along the coasts of all the Hawaiian islands.

NBC station KNHL reported that the first tsunami wave was expected to reach Hawaii's coastline at 11:19 a.m. local time (4:19 p.m. ET).

"Urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property," the Warning Center said in a bulletin. "All shores are at risk no matter which direction they face."

California also warned its coastal cities to prepare for possible tsunami waves. A tsunami advisory was issued for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands. An advisory means there may be strong currents, but that widespread inundation is not expected to occur.

Giant wave
Reuters reported that a tsunami caused by the quake caused "serious damage" to Chile's sparsely populated Juan Fernández Islands, where Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in the 18th Century inspiring the novel Robinson Crusoe.

An Associated Press Television News cameraman said some buildings collapsed in the capital Santiago, which lies about 200 miles north of the epicenter.

In the moments after the quake, people streamed onto the streets of the capital, hugging each other and crying.

Broadcaster TVN reported that several hospitals had suffered structural damage and had been evacuated.

'It's like the end of the world'
"Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings.

Simon Shalders, who lives in Santiago, told Sky News: "There was a lot of movement. The houses were really shaking, walls were moving

backwards and forwards, and doors were swinging open.


"Santiago has got a history of earthquakes and basically there's not a lot of old construction in Santiago because of these earthquakes.

"The new buildings in Santiago are designed to withstand fairly strong quakes and they probably held up pretty well."

There were blackouts in parts of Santiago and communications were still down in the area closest to the epicenter.

Santiago resident Leo Perioto told CNN that "windows were wobbling a lot" in his six-story building.

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"The whole building was shaking," he added. "We could feel the walls moving from side to side."

An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over can cause "tremendous damage," the USGS said. The quake that devastated Port-au-Prince on January 12 was rated magnitude 7.0.

'Threat to more distant coasts'
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the Chile quake generated a tsunami that may have been destructive along the coast near the epicenter "and could also be a threat to more distant coasts."



According to a 2002 census, Concepcion is one of the largest cities in Chile with a population of around 670,000.

In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900.

The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island 2,300 miles off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.

[Chilean Presidentâ„¢]

I live at Viña del Mar, north of Santiago. I have access to Internet only vÃa iPhone, all isp providers are down. It was a huge quake, destruction everywhere, massive fires strike the industrial área of Viña del Mar.
Santiago, Valparaiso and Rancagua were hit in a similar way than my city, but the biggest disaster is in the south. Concepcion's Old Bridge collapsed, also at least two 20 floor buildings. Huge waves hit the coast of the south of Chile. Juan Fernandez Island seems to be vanished under a tsunami, President Bachelet send two frigates an P3 aircraft to thr island. Easter Island is on alert, Navy ships are helping in the evacuation of some áreas of that island.
If i can i'll come back with more News. This was a huge terrible tragedy

[MrFun]

I wonder what a wave like that would do to ice shelves ringing Antarctica

I didn't even think about this.

[OzzyKP]

I live at Viña del Mar, north of Santiago. I have access to Internet only vÃa iPhone, all isp providers are down. It was a huge quake, destruction everywhere, massive fires strike the industrial área of Viña del Mar.
Santiago, Valparaiso and Rancagua were hit in a similar way than my city, but the biggest disaster is in the south. Concepcion's Old Bridge collapsed, also at least two 20 floor buildings. Huge waves hit the coast of the south of Chile. Juan Fernandez Island seems to be vanished under a tsunami, President Bachelet send two frigates an P3 aircraft to thr island. Easter Island is on alert, Navy ships are helping in the evacuation of some áreas of that island.
If i can i'll come back with more News. This was a huge terrible tragedy

Glad you're ok. All your friends and family ok?

[germanos]

If i can i'll come back with more News.

Thanks for taking the effort to contact this community . Good luck and stay safe!

[Ben Kenobi]

I heard it was a 40 metre Tsunami.

What about hawaii?

Glad to hear you are ok Chilean President!

[Wernazuma III]

I heard it was a 40 metre Tsunami.

What about hawaii?

Glad to hear you are ok Chilean President!

It was 2.3m.

Hawaii launched a tsunami warning 2 hours ago. If there is one coming, it should arrive in about an hour. It won't be a huge tsunami, but 2m can hurt anyway...

[Ben Kenobi]

Well at Juan Fernandez, right off the epicentre. 2-3 metres for Hawaii.

[Ecofarm]

It was the strongest earthquake to hit Chile in 50 years. President-elect Sebastian Pinera said more than 120 people died, a number that was rising quickly...

3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST, 0634 GMT) quake.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/lt_chile_earthquake

What's the deal with so few casualties? Are we looking at 10k, 100k, 300k ? How long will the number stay under 500? We are 12 hours after the quake...

I don't meant to be cold and statistical, but some kind of a guess about casualties would provide a frame of reference for this tragedy.

[Ben Kenobi]

Chile is the largest subduction zone. This is only the second largest earthquake here. The first was in 1960.

1, they haven't been able to go in buildings yet.
2, they were rather prepared.

[Ecofarm]

1. It has been daylight for about 8 hours now, after 4 hours of early morning.

2. I'd think we could see/have seen more than 120.

3. What is your guess regarding total deaths?