Chile Earthquake 2010

At 27^th February 2010, an earthquake with magnitude 8.8 stroke Chile at 03:34 a.m. local time (06:34 UTC), the earthquake lasted around 4 minutes. This earthquake was destructive, and the 2^nd largest magnitude if it is compared to the 1960 Valdivia Earthquake with magnitude 9.5. The cities experienced the strongest shaking on the Mercalli intensity scale – were Talcuhuano, Arauco, Lota,Chiguayante, Cañete, Talca, Concepcion, and San Antonio (2010). The earthquake was felt in the capital Santiago at Mercalli intensity scal VIII (destructive). The tremor was felt by many Argentine cities, including Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, and La Rioja.

Because of the earthquake, many tsunamis warning sent. The sum of the warnings were to 53 countries, and a tsunami was recorded, with amplitude of up to 2.6 metre (8 ft 6 in) high at Valparaíso. It was confirmed that at least 279 people, while the others were missing.

Seismologists estimated that the power of the earthquake, it may have shortened the length of theday by 1.26 microseconds and moved the Earth’s figure axis by 8 cm or 2.7 milliarcseconds. It also moved the entire city of Concepción 3.04 metres (10ft) to the west. The capital Santiago, moved almost by 24 centimetres (10 in) west, and even Buenos Aires, nearly 800 miles from the epicenter, shifted 3.9 centimetres (1.5 in).

The earthquake caused by the movement of 2 boundaries, those are the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. This earthquake was characterized by a thust-faulting focal mechanism, caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate.

According to Associated Press Television News cameramen, there were some buildings collapsed in Santiago and there were power outages in parts of the city. A fire was reported in a chemical plant in an outskirt of Santiago and caused an evacuation of the neighbourhood. Santiago’s International Airport apparently has been destroyed because of the earthquake and the airport authority has closed off all flight for the next 24 hours from around 12:00 UTC. The Fine Arts Museum also destroyed, and also 3 hospitals in Santiago.

In Valparaíso, a tsunami wave of 1.29 m was reported. The port of Valparaíso was orderd to be closed due to the damage caused by the earthquake. The port started to resume limited operations on February 28. In Viña del Mar, a touristic city and a part of Greater Valparaíso, several buildings were damaged structurally.

A tsunami warning, first declared for Chile and Peru, and a tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Antartica, Panama, and Costa Rica. The warning was later extended to a Pacific Ocean-wide warning, covering all coastal areas on the Pacific Ocean except the west coast of the United States, British Columbia, and Alaska. Hawaiian media reported that tsunami warning sirens sounded at 6 am local time. he U.S. Tsunami Warning Center issued advisories about potential tidal waves of less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) striking the Pacific Ocean coastline between California and most of Alaska late in the afternoon or through the evening 12 or more hours after the initial earthquake. Although the earthquake killed far fewer people than the Haitian earthquake less than 7 weeks prior, it was still devastating. The tsunami warning was cancelled for all countries except Japan and Russia in PTWC Bulletin 18 of 00:12 UTC on 28 February 2010.

In general, tsunamis tend to come in several waves, of which the first may not be the highest.

The tsunami warning included Chile, Oceania, and North America.

Oceania:

1. New Zealand

2. Antartica

3. Australia

4. French Polynesia

5. American Samoa

6. Philippines

7. Hawaii

North America:

1. British Columbia

2. California

3. Guerrero

example of photos of Chile Earthquake

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile_earthquake_2010