Chile Hit by 7.7 Earthquake

[plan_D]

I just had a newsflash, Chile been hit by massive earthquake !

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yeap a little over an hour ago.

Major earthquake strikes northern Chile

By EDUARDO GALLARDO, Associated Press Writer
42 minutes ago



SANTIAGO, Chile - A major earthquake struck northern Chile on Wednesday, toppling power lines, closing roads and sending terrified residents into the streets. Authorities reported 20 injuries but no deaths from the quake, which was felt in the capital as well as neighboring Peru and Bolivia.

The earthquake, which struck at 12:40 p.m. local time (10:40 a.m. EST), measured magnitude 7.7 and was centered 780 miles north of Santiago, or 25 miles east-southeast of Tocopilla, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The USGS said it occurred about 37.3 miles underground.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued, then canceled a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru. It said the quake generated only a 2-foot wave.

Aftershocks were felt in several cities, according to media reports from the area.

Some houses were damaged in the port city of Tocopilla, according to Deputy Interior Minister Felipe Harboe, "and some people were injured, apparently none seriously." He gave no figures but the government's Emergency Bureau said at least 20 people were injured in the small town of Maria Elena. A number of houses were damaged there, said Mayor Eduardo Ahumada.

Presidential spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber said power was cut in several cities in northern Chile.

The region is home to some of the country's largest copper mines. A statement from mine operator Codelco reported no "relevant" damage, but said its mines in the region were without power and only emergency teams were operating. Only minor landslides were reported, it said.

Television images showed cars crushed by the collapse of a hotel entryway in Antofagasta, 105 miles south of the epicenter. A reporter for Radio Cooperativa said she saw cracks in the tarmac at the airport in Antofagasta.

Schools, hospitals and other buildings were evacuated in several cities.

"It was horribly strong. It was very long and there was a lot of underground noise," said Andrea Riveros, spokeswoman for the Park Hotel in Calama, 60 miles from the epicenter and site of the large Chuquicamata copper mine.

She said the quake knocked out power to the hotel, but caused no damage.

At the nearby Agua del Desierto Hotel, administrator Paola Barria said she felt like she was riding on "a floating island." She reported downed power lines, cracked windows and fallen pieces of houses near the hotel.

"I was very frightened. It was very strong," she said. "I've never felt one that strong."

In the Bolivian capital of La Paz, 385 miles northeast of the epicenter, some high-rise buildings were evacuated, but there was no apparent damage and people soon returned to their offices.

Stretching along the earthquake-prone Pacific "Ring of Fire," Chile has suffered many destructive temblors. A 1939 quake killed 28,000 people and in 1960 a magnitude-9.5 quake killed 5,700 people. That remains the most powerful quake on record.

On June 13, 2005, a magnitude 7.8 quake near Tarapaca in northern Chile killed 11 people and left thousands homeless.

Major earthquake strikes northern Chile - Yahoo! News

[comiso90]

Earthquakes are scary... at least you have warnings with tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and often.. fires.

Earthquakes f*ck your world up with no notice!

,

[syscom3]

7.7 is large, but not "massive".

This area in 1962 had a quake measuring 9.5. Now thats "massive".

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by comiso90

Earthquakes are scary... at least you have warnings with tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and often.. fires.

Earthquakes f*ck your world up with no notice!

,

We have a honest to god true to life Earthquake alarm here at our house.

No **** about a year ago there was an Earthquake in Stuttgart, Germany (I believe they said it was 3.5, so it was not a big one). About 10 minutes before it happened my cat started acting real stupid and jumping up on the couch and biting at our feet with her hair all standing up on her back and her tail real bushy. Eventually she ran into the bedroom and under the bed and hid there.

Anyhow ofcourse we were like what the hell is she doing??? About 10 minutes later everything started shaking and pictures fell off the wall.

As I said above it was a small earthquake and there were no injuries and no real damage to anyones property or anything, but it is still a neat story though.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by syscom3

7.7 is large, but not "massive".

This area in 1962 had a quake measuring 9.5. Now thats "massive".

Syscom 7.7 is pretty damn big. It is massive eneogh to cause large amounts of damage and kill lots of people.

On the Richter Scale anything 3 and below is considered minor and will not cause any damage. 7 and above is considered severe and causing massive damage.

El Salvador (2001). 7.9 (13 January) and 6.6 (13 February) magnitudes, killed more than 1,100 people.

Gujarat, India, January 26, 2001. 7.9, killed more than 30,000 people and injured another 55,000 and rendered about half a million people homeless [1] throughout Gujarat and parts of Eastern Pakistan.

Hindu Kush earthquakes (2002). 7.4 Over 1.100 killed.

Molise, Italy earthquake (2002). 5.9, Killed 26

Bam, Iran, December 26, 2003. 6.6, Killed 26,271

Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake (26 December 2004). 9.1 Killed 285,000

1999 İzmit earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale and killed over 17,000 in northwestern Turkey.

Great Hanshin earthquake (1995). 7.2 Killed over 6,400 people in and around Kobe, Japan.

Landers, California earthquake (1992). Serious damage in the small town of Yucca Valley, California and was felt across 10 states in Western U.S. Another tremor measured 6.4 struck 3 hours later and felt across Southern California.

Loma Prieta earthquake (1989). 6.9 to 7.1 Severely affecting Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland in California. This is also called the World Series Earthquake. It struck as Game 3 of the 1989 World Series was just getting underway at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Revealed necessity of accelerated seismic retrofit of road and bridge structures. The quake killed 63 people throughout northern California, injured 3,756 people and left more than 12,000 people homeless

Good Friday Earthquake (1964) In Alaska, it was the second biggest earthquake recorded,[12] measuring 9.2M. and generated tsunamis throughout the Pacific ocean. 131 people were killed as a result of the earthquake: 9 in the earthquake itself, 106 from tsunamis in Alaska, and 16 from tsunamis in Oregon and California. Property damage was estimated at over $300 million ($1.8 billion in 2007 U.S.) (And this is where I am moving to!!!!

San Francisco Earthquake (1906). Between 7.7 and 8.3 magnitudes; killed approximately 3,000 people and caused around $400 million in damage; most devastating earthquake in California and U.S. history.

[HoHun]

Hi Adler,

>(And this is where I am moving to!!!!

I'd say with a monster earthquake in the (semi-)recent past, you're pretty safe for a while.

You'd have more of a reason to worry if you'd be moving someplace where the last major earthquake was a hundred years ago ...

>San Francisco Earthquake (1906).

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I am not worried about it. I love Alaska and cant wait to get there.

[HoHun]

Hi Adler,

>I am not worried about it.

Glad to hear that

By the way:

>Good Friday Earthquake (1964) In Alaska, it was the second biggest earthquake recorded,[12] measuring 9.2M. and generated tsunamis throughout the Pacific ocean. 131 people were killed as a result of the earthquake: 9 in the earthquake itself, 106 from tsunamis in Alaska, and 16 from tsunamis in Oregon and California.

Did the tsunamis miss Canada, or is that a reporting oversight?

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

[plan_D]

But Adler, people can't have something bigger than syscom ! If your car is new, his is a little newer !

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by HoHun

Hi Adler,

>I am not worried about it.

Glad to hear that

By the way:

>Good Friday Earthquake (1964) In Alaska, it was the second biggest earthquake recorded,[12] measuring 9.2M. and generated tsunamis throughout the Pacific ocean. 131 people were killed as a result of the earthquake: 9 in the earthquake itself, 106 from tsunamis in Alaska, and 16 from tsunamis in Oregon and California.

Did the tsunamis miss Canada, or is that a reporting oversight?

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

A 1.4 m (4.5 ft) wave reached Prince Rupert, British Columbia, just south of the Alaska Panhandle, about 3.3 hours after the quake. The tsunami then reached Tofino, on the exposed west coast of Vancouver Island, and travelled up a fjord to hit Port Alberni twice, damaging 375 homes and washing away 55 others. The towns of Hot Springs Cove, Zeballos, and Amai also saw damage. The damage in British Columbia was estimated at $10 million Canadian ($65 million in 2006 Canadian dollars, or $56 million in 2006 U.S. dollars).

The Earthquake was massive, other damage reported:

131 people were killed as a result of the earthquake: 9 in the earthquake itself, 106 from tsunamis in Alaska, and 16 from tsunamis in Oregon and California. Property damage was estimated at over $300 million ($1.8 billion in 2007 U.S. dollars).


Anchorage area
Most property damage occurred in Anchorage, 120 km (75 mi) northwest of the epicenter. Nine people were killed, the only deaths directly attributed to the earthquake. Anchorage was not hit by tsunamis, but downtown Anchorage was heavily damaged, and parts of the city built on clay or near bluffs, most notably the Turnagain Heights neighborhood, suffered landslide damage. Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged

The small coastal towns of Girdwood and Portage, located approximately 60 km (40 mi) southeast of Anchorage on Turnagain Arm, were destroyed. Girdwood was later relocated a few miles inland, while Portage, which subsided below the high-water level, was abandoned entirely.


Elsewhere in Alaska
Most towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island areas, especially the major ports, such as Seward and Kodiak, were heavily hit by a combination of seismic damage, tsunamis, subsidence, and/or fire. Valdez was not totally destroyed as is commonly thought and was inhabited for the next three years; the town was later moved to more solid ground 7 km (4 mi) west of its original site. Several of the smaller, low-lying Alaska Native villages in the area (such as Chenega and Afognak) were mostly or totally destroyed. The earthquake also caused the ballistic missile detection radar of Clear Air Force Station to go offline for six minutes, the only unscheduled interruption in its operational history.

Elsewhere
12 people were killed by the tsunami in Crescent City, California, while four children were killed on the Oregon Coast at Beverly Beach State Park. Other towns along the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged. Minor damage to boats reached as far south as Los Angeles.

Since the entire Earth vibrated as a result of the quake, minor effects were felt worldwide: several fishing boats were sunk in Louisiana and water sloshed in wells in South Africa.

Aftershocks
Over 10,000 aftershocks were recorded following the main shock. In the first day alone, eleven aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0. An additional nine more occurred over the next three weeks. It was not until eighteen months later that the aftershocks were no longer a danger.

Info taken from:
Good Friday Earthquake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[HoHun]

Hi Adler,

Thanks for the follow-up!

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

[syscom3]

Originally Posted by plan_D

But Adler, people can't have something bigger than syscom ! If your car is new, his is a little newer !

Earthquakes of mag 7.7, while big, are still far smaller than the 8.0 quakes.

Its a logarithmic scale.

But of course you knew that.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by syscom3

Earthquakes of mag 7.7, while big, are still far smaller than the 8.0 quakes.

Its a logarithmic scale.

But of course you knew that.

Sys everything above 7 is considered massive.

[plan_D]

There's no point, Chris. Only sys lives in an area of MASSIVE earthquakes, all the other earthquakes are just big or tiny.