Estimates were the rupture zone stretched anywhere from 500 kilometers (311 miles) to almost 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) along the country's coast. [59], Further north the earthquake destroyed numerous houses in the coal-mining town of Lebu. Other volcanoes may also have erupted, but none were recorded because of the lack of communication in Chile at the time. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. Some seismologists believe the eruption was linked to the Valdivia earthquake. This potential disaster would have violently flooded all the settlements along the course of the river in less than five hours, with more dire consequences if the dam suddenly broke. In Chile, the earthquake and the tsunami that followed took more than 2,000 lives and caused property damage estimated at $550 million (1960 dollars). Most of the interviews were done decades later in the 1980's and 1990's. Some tugboats and small sailboats were stranded on Rocuant Island near Talcahuano. [20], Earthquake-induced tsunamis affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, China,[21] eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands. [31], During the Great Chilean earthquake, several landslides west of Tralcn Mountain blocked the outflow of Riihue Lake. [75] A survey showed that 434 persons in Valdivia had their homes damaged by the earthquake. Several months later in April, it caused a flood. Subduction zones produce the strongest earthquakes on earth as their structure allows more stress to accumulate before the energy is released. By 23 June, the main dam had been lowered from 24 to 15m (79 to 49ft), allowing 3billion cubic metres of water to leave the lake gradually, but still with considerable destructive power. Waves wracked coastal communities as far away as New Zealand, Japan, and the Philippines. The May 22nd 1960 Chilean earthquake is the largest earthquake on record with a magnitude 9.5 ( DeMets et al., 1990) for the main shock which occurred along a 1000 km N to S trending fault rupture at the subduction zone of the Nazca and South American plates ( Fig. The sea was then able to cover coastal pastures, farms, and forests. As marked on this 1944 photo of the mouth of the Ro Maulln, Chile, the 1960 Chilean tsunami flowed 2 miles inland from the beach at right foreground. [54] It received state support through a long-term policy after the earthquake. The focus of the earthquake was relatively shallow at 33km (21mi), considering that earthquakes in northern Chile and Argentina may reach depths of 70km (43mi). Though the oblique angle by which the waves approached the Pacific coast of the United States mitigated their force, Crescent City, California, saw waves of up to 5.6 feet (1.7 metres), and boats and docks in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Long Beach were damaged. According to the Wikipedia article "1960 Valdivia earthquake." , The magnitude of the earthquake was 9.4-9.6. About 10 days after the tsunami, Mr. Reyes happened upon bodies stuck in sand and being eaten by birds. These areas include a Native American fishing camp. [57] After the earthquake many families in Corral relocated to the neighbourhood of La Aguada. Updates? One ship, Canelos, starting at the mouth of the Valdivia River, sank after being moved 1.5km (0.93mi) backward and forward in the river; as of 2005, its mast was still visible from the road to Niebla. [18], After the earthquake a myth relating the unusually warm and clear weather conditions prior to the earthquake to its triggering. The M w 9.5 1960 CE earthquake fully ruptured the Valdivia Segment along a length of about 1000 km with maximum coseismic slip of about 40 m (Moreno et al., 2009) and is the strongest . Scientists are saying one of the biggest quakes in the 20th century now happening in Valdivia located in southern Chile. Other recent earthquakes have caused more damage and loss of life, however. The main tsunami traveled across the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii, where waves as high as 10.7 metres (35ft) were recorded over 10,000 kilometres (6,200mi) from the epicenter. [18] Two days after the earthquake Cordn Caulle, a volcanic vent close to Puyehue volcano, erupted. Hawai'i had been struck in the past by deadly tsunamis, including ones from Chile in 1837 and 1877 and one from the Aleutian Islands in 1946 that in Hilo alone killed 98 people. (2009). STF/AFP/Getty Images. [49], Puerto Montt, a major city today, had in the early 1960s about 49,500 inhabitants. Nabih Soza, at his store in 1989, remembers Ramn Atala, a fellow merchant in Maulln, Chile. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Soon after the earthquake shaking stopped, a man on horseback told her that the sea had receded from shore. In the account, all the people in and near the town of Maulln, Chile, survived the biggest earthquake ever measured. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. She or he will best know the preferred format. [70] While the 1575 earthquake is considered the one most similar to that of 1960, it differed in not having caused any tsunami in Japan. How much damage was caused by the Chile earthquake of 1960? The streets were chaotic and it took me about 40 minutes to walk home as there were no buses running. The earthquake caused 400-800 million dollars of damage in US which is between 3.24-6.48 billion dollars US today. A sudden breaking in the rocks along a roughly 560620-mile (9001,000-km) stretch of the Nazca Plate caused the earthquake, which has been generally agreed to have had a magnitude of 9.5the largest earthquake recorded in the 20th century. As the San Pedro River was blocked, the water level of Riihue Lake started to rise quickly. Along with 14 others, the Navarro family spent the night in the loft of Ramn Atala's barn, safe above the tsunami waters that ran beneath them. The Nazca plate is a large tectonic plate that underlies the Pacific Ocean near the western coast of South America. Others describe taking refuge in buildings or trees or floating on debris-tactics that had mixed results and can be recommended only as desperate acts. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. The port of Puerto Montt collapsed. His son, Eduardo, said that afterward his father was among the missing and that his body was never found. Never before had they seen so much of the streambed exposed. [38] The most affected structures were those built of concrete, which in some cases collapsed completely, because they were not built using modern earthquake engineering. After being inundated by the 1700 tsunami, this fishing camp became a tidal flat or a tidal marsh. There was complete panic. The tremor triggered a giant tsunami which caused destruction and deaths as far away as Japan, around a day later. Earthquakes occur when the fault ruptures, suddenly releasing built-up energy. It was near the town of Lumaco, which is around 570 km south of the Chilean capital Santiago. The eruption ended on 22 July 59 days later. Heeding natural warnings by going to high ground probably saved hundreds of lives in Queule. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. Damaging waves in Onagawa, some of which carried battering rams of floating wood, reached heights of 14 feet. [66], An earthquake of similar magnitude occurred in this area around 1800 BC, as has been determined by dating charcoal and shells washed into the Atacama Desert by the tsunami. The main tsunami raced across the Pacific Ocean and when it reached Hawaii, the waves still had a max height of 10.6 m (35 ft). Tsunamis have also been caused by the eruption of some coastal and island volcanoes, submarine landslides, and oceanic impacts of large meteorites. Although he was carried away, his warehouse created a shelter for about 20 people. Facebook Twitter Google Email Canelos was anchored at Corral when the quake struck, filling a cargo of wood and other products destined for northern Chile. It is subducting under (that is, being forced under) the South American plate. While he clung to the tree, the waters of the tsunami rose to his waist. Speaking personally it was a terrible shock to be awakened from deep sleep at the beginning of the earthquake. In the first weeks after the 1960 Chile earthquake and tsunami, Yolanda Montealegre provided shelter for 40 families in Casa Grande, her large home on the outskirts of Maulln, Chile. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. BBC News website readers sent their eyewitness accounts of the earthquake which struck northern Chile on Monday. The 2010 quake was also megathrust and caused by the subducting Nazca plate under the South American plate. The tsunami traveled across the Pacific Ocean in the hours after the earthquake; the waves killed 61 people in Hawaii, nearly 140 in Japan, and 32 in the Philippines. The best solutions to fit the observations in four sequential time periods, 1960-1964, 1960-1968, 1965-1973 and 1980-2010, each yield a similar He value of about 65 km but significantly increasing . At 6:47 p.m. Hawaiian time, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey issued an official warning that waves were expected to reach Hilo at about midnight. La desaparicin del luchecillo (Egeria densa) del Santuario del Rio Cruces (Valdivia, Chile): una hiptesis plausible. [67][68], There is evidence that a similar earthquake and landslide occurred in 1575 in Valdivia. They killed 61 people and caused $24 million in damage at Hilo Bay on the main island of Hawaii. On May 22, 1960, the most powerfulearthquake in recorded historymagnitude 9.5struck southern Chile. Questions or comments? Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Mr. Atala was probably trapped in the warehouse when the second wave of the tsunami washed the building away. The epicenter of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake lay around 100 miles of the coast of Chile in the Pacific Ocean. [44][45], Land subsidence in Corral Bay improved navigability as shoal banks, produced earlier by sediments from Madre de Dios and other nearby gold mines, sank and were compacted. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Canelo, a ship that sank as result of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile. 35 houses were severely damaged and some 44 other suffered reparable damages. Various studies have placed it at 9.49.6 on the moment magnitude scale. Barrientos has since spent years studying earthquakes. [58], The economy of the coastal town of Queule had during the 1950s developed significantly. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. I cannot describe the feeling is this the one. The combined effects of the disaster left two million people homeless. Some arrived there by 4:45 a.m., as the first large wave entered town. [54], A large area of former pastures and cultivated fields around the lower course of Cruces River was permanently flooded as a result of c. 2 m of subsidence caused by the earthquake. There, just outside La Pasada, Tulio Ruiz found crosses and a full casket. The 1960 Valdivia Earthquake (Great Chilean Earthquake) and Tsunami4.2.4.1. [39], Unlike Valdivia, Osorno was saved from major destruction. This quake was preceded by 4 foreshocks bigger than magnitude 7.0, including a magnitude 7.9 on May 21 that caused severe damage in the Concepcion area. The earthquake lasted very long. The 1960 Valdivia earthquake struck Chile on the afternoon of 22nd May 1960, causing widespread damage with Valdivia being the most affected city. But the most terrible scenes of the earthquake were in small towns east of Iquique. I had to wait for five hours to get in contact with my family, who live in the neighbouring town of Altho Hospicio. Many residents of Queule fled to the safety of high ground soon after the earthquake, but Jovita Riquelme lost her daughter and husband to the tsunami because the family remained at their house on low ground near the Ro Queule. Santiago Fernandez, from Arica, was at university when the ground began to shake. It is meant for people who live, work, or play along coasts that tsunamis may strike. Further north, the port of Talcahuano did not suffer any major damage, only some flooding. [23], In Valdivia the tsunami swell penetrated along Calle-Calle River as far as Huellelhue putting afloat piles of firewood that lay in the fields. The tremor triggered a giant tsunami which caused destruction and deaths as far away as Japan, around a day later. Houses built upon elevated areas suffered considerably less damage compared to those on the lowlands, which absorbed great amounts of energy. The 1960 Chile earthquake ruptured a fault zone along which a slab of sea floor is descending, or "subducting," beneath the adjacent South American Continent. I am from Chile and lived through the 1985 and 75 earthquakes. [61][63], In the coastal village Collileufu (La Araucana Region), native Lafkenches carried out a human sacrifice during the days following the main earthquake. At Mehun, near Queule, Jacinto Reyes buried some of the tsunami victims. Perhaps the most basic guidance for people in Cascadia comes from the account on the following page. There they hoped to measure the 1960 Chilean tsunami, which was expected to arrive at about midnight. The tsunami was a result of the largest earthquake ever measured (magnitude 9.5). ABSTRACT. He thought he'd retrieve a few things from the family house. The epicenter of this megathrust earthquake was near Lumaco, approximately 570 kilometres (350mi) south of Santiago, with Valdivia being the most affected city. Nabih was soon carried off by the second wave after he left the warehouse trying to save his wife. The Chile earthquake of 1960 was caused by the release of mechanical stress due to the subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate along the Chile-Peru Trench, which has been the cause of many other earthquakes too. Several coastal towns were inundated by a 25-metre (80-foot) tsunami. She clung to this trunk until the next morning. [17] As the earthquake destroyed Valdivia's flood barriers, general land subsidence exposed new areas to flooding. Questions? In the Philippines, tsunami waves left 32 dead or missing. This wave also toppled a nearby tree that Ms. Cubate's father had climbed to escape the tsunami. They were released from prison after two years. There was even talk of a tsunami in Iquique which concerned me as I thought there might be more danger ahead of us. La Milagrosa was battered by the currents and waves of the tsunami for four days while moving south. At first, Mrs. Llanquimn was not alarmed by this news, but her husband took it as a warning that the sea, when it came back, might surge inland. May 21, 1960 (1 day) 7.9 M w Arauco Province, Chile: May 22, 1960 35 km 9.5 M w XII 1960 Valdivia earthquake: Thrust: November 2, 2002 (2 years) 7.3 M w Sumatra, Indonesia: December 26, 2004 30 km 9.2 M w IX 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami: Thrust October 20, 2006 (10 months) 6.4 M w Ica Region, Peru: August 15, 2007 35 km 8.0 M w VIII These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Just in case, they also planned their own evacuation route, a short sprint to high ground. On the way back, they met a police officer who told them that the danger had passed. Anna Rooke, from Surrey, England, was travelling on a bus from Arica to Iquique when the earthquake struck. The earthquake was a megathrust earthquake resulting from the release of mechanical stress between the subducting Nazca Plate and South American Plate on the PeruChile Trench, off the coast of southern Chile. Please Contact Us. Going to high ground and staying there helped save lives during the 1960 Chilean tsunami, not only in Chile but also in Onagawa, Japan. Many of these people, including the nurse at right, contended with the waves near their source, along the coast of Chile. Such coasts surround most of the Pacific Ocean but also include other areas, such as the shores of the Caribbean, eastern Canada, and the Mediterranean. The first three quakes, all registering in the planet's top 10 by magnitude for 1960, are grouped together as the 1960 Concepcin earthquakes. He recalls that some of the houses, with their stoves still smoking, looked like ships. Together they watched the tsunami overrun their fields and carry away the remains of their house. [18], It has been estimated that about 40 percent of the houses in Valdivia were destroyed, leaving 20,000 people homeless. In Osorno only about 20 houses were totally destroyed, although many firewalls and chimneys collapsed. At the moment the earthquake hit, we had trouble walking and leaving the classroom, as the movement was so terrible. With a magnitude of 9.5, the earthquake was the most powerful such event of the 20th century. Because of its geography, Chile remains one of the most seismically active countries in the world. [18] Structures that had been designed to resist earthquakes performed well during the earthquake, chiefly suffering damage when affected by soil subsidence or small fault movements. Ramirez, C., E. Carrasco, S. Mariani & N. Palacios. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary On May 22, 1960, the most powerful earthquake in recorded history magnitude 9.5struck southern Chile. My small dog woke me barking, birds outside were fluttering wildly. Of all the seismic energy of the 20th Century, including the 2004 Indian Ocean quake, 25% was concentrated in the 1960 Chile quake. Many Chilean cities sustained significant damage, including Puerto Montt, where noticeable subsidence occurred, and Valdivia, where nearly half of the buildings were rendered uninhabitable. During the confusion caused by the waves, Mrs. Riquelme lost her daughter, and her husband was badly injured. It is an impressive document that includes the involvement of citizens in committees that are part of the program. The South-Central Chilean subduction zone is known for having produced some of the largest observed earthquakes - among them, the greatest instrumentally recorded earthquake, the 1960 Mw 9.5 Valdivia event [Barrientos and Ward, 1990; Cifuentes . There were broken windows and clouds of dust everywhere. It caused 82 foot high waves to travel down the Chilean coast. Queule was connected by road in 1957 to the rest of the country and the town had developed into a balneario. The family needed to cover half a mile just to reach the bridge that their neighbor had used. Breadcrumbs Section. [17] East of Puerto Octay, in a hotel in Todos los Santos Lake, stacked dishes were reported to have remained in place. [17] With the exception of poor building sites, the zone of Mercalli scales intensities of VII or more all lay west of the Andes in a strip running from Lota (37 S) southwards. Soon after the shaking from the quake stopped, she walked about 100 yards inland to a house that was more than half a mile from the nearest high ground.

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