Iquique’s fishermen poked through the aftermath: sunken and damaged boats that could cost millions of dollars to repair and replace. A tsunami 30ft (10m) high eliminates entire villages. Weaker earthquakes in the past in other parts of the world have killed far more people. The death toll rose to six in the 8.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile’s northern coast — but officials said it remained a remarkably low toll for such a powerful shift in the Earth’s c… And seismologists warn that the same region is long overdue for an even bigger quake. The importance of solid structures was displayed in Jan. 2010 when Port-au-Prince was hit by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that leveled 70 percent of the Haitian capital's structures and killed 220,000 people. “Could be tomorrow, could be in 50 years; we do not know when it’s going to occur. "The key to surviving high magnitude quakes is to live and work in seismically safe buildings, while being aware of how nature around us can also change," said Margareta Wahlstrom, U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, in the report. The 8.8 magnitude earthquake was one of the most intense ever measured, and the official death toll has risen to 711. Death toll at 795 in Chile quake, government says Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Tuesday that looting and lawlessness will not be tolerated. No, stay calm, be careful, cover yourself,” said Vladimir Alejandro Alvarado Lopez as he recorded himself pushing his family under a table. Chile has revised its estimate of the number of people killed in the Feb. 27 earthquake down to 279, backing away from earlier estimates that put the death toll at 802. Authorities on Wednesday discovered just six reported deaths from the previous night’s quake. How much is it preparedness? Reporter on Chile earthquake: It was ‘scary night’. Why Chile’s Latest Big Earthquake Has a Smaller Death Toll. Just a month later, a magnitude-8.8 quake hit Chile but killed far fewer people, with the death toll reaching around 500. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has declared a "state of catastrophe" in central Chile, calling the quake a disaster of unthinkable magnitude. Nowhere along the fault is the pressure greater than in the “Iquique seismic gap” of northern Chile. The 2010 Chile earthquake (Spanish: Terremoto del 27F) occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34 local time (06:34 UTC), having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. Still, as President Michelle Bachelet deployed hundreds of anti-riot police and soldiers to prevent looting and round up escaped prisoners, it was clear that the loss of life and property could have been much worse. But Chileans weren’t satisfied Wednesday, finding much room for improvement. Some homes made of adobe also were destroyed in Arica, another city close to the quake’s offshore epicenter. March 05, 2010 8:34 am. My daughter, stay calm! “Stay calm, stay calm! The USGS says the seismic gap last saw quakes of more than magnitude 8 in 1877 and 1868. IQUIQUE, Chile — Hard-won expertise and a big dose of luck helped Chile escape its latest magnitude-8.2 earthquake with surprisingly little damage and death. The death toll from the huge Chile earthquake rose to 700 on Sunday as the country assessed damage to half a million homes and a reconstruction bill … The order to leave was spread through cellphone text messages and Twitter, and reinforced by blaring sirens in neighborhoods where people regularly practice earthquake drills. And he was highly critical of the government’s response, citing the need for better access to roads, transportation, health care, coordination and supplies. Please take a second to review our community guidelines, Damaged roads, lack of gear hinder Indonesia quake rescue, Death toll reaches 39 in quake that hit Turkey, Greek island, Powerful quake jolts Alaska towns, produces small tsunami. Chile's government has declared a state of emergency in a central region struck by a powerful earthquake. Shaky cellphone videos taken by people eating dinner show light fixtures swaying, furniture shaking and people running to safety, pulling their children under restaurant tables, running for exits and shouting to turn off natural gas connections. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reductionreleased a report in 2011 saying that the "strict building codes in Chile...continue to play a large part in protecting people." The death toll from Saturday's devastating earthquake in Chile rose to more than 700 last night as rescue workers fanned out across a 370-mile (600km) stretch of … Originating off the coast of southern Chile on May 22, 1960, the temblor caused substantial damage and loss of life in Chile and—as a result of the tsunamis it generated—in Hawaii, … By early Wednesday, the latest quake had killed just six people. The mandatory evacuation lasted for 10 hours in Iquique and Arica, the cities closest to the epicenter, and kept 900,000 people out of their homes along Chile’s 2,500-mile coastline. Bachelet, who just returned to the presidency three weeks ago, had no margin for error. [2] A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck offshore of Chile 29 km (18 mi) northwest of Iquique on April 1 at a depth of 25.0 km (15.5 mi). STORY HIGHLIGHTS “Shut the gas … It’s still shaking. Chile's govt on Thursday sharply cut the official death toll from a massive weekend earthquake and ensuing tsunamis to 279 identified bodies,from a previously reported 802 victims,without giving an explantation. (AP Photo/Cristian Viveros) NO PUBLICAR EN CHILE Mostly, it is luck that the tsunami was not bigger and that it hit a fairly isolated area of Chile,” said Costas Synolakis, an engineer who directs the Tsunami Research Center at the University of Southern California. Let’s go,” he said as he then hustled them outside. An 8.8 earthquake is more powerful than the largest nuclear bomb ever tested, officials told CBS News. Six people were crushed to death or suffered fatal heart attacks, a remarkably low toll for such a powerful shift in the Earths crust. And experts warn that a “seismic gap” has left northern Chile overdue for a far bigger quake. Strict building regulations enforced due to Chile's history of violent seismology have been credited with minimizing the death toll in the wake of Tuesday's magnitude-8.2 earthquake . Chile's history is peppered with strong tremors, but the event that prompted its strict construction regulations was the devastating magnitude-9.5 quake of 1960 - the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. The April 1, 2014, M 8.2 earthquake off the west coast of northern Chile occurred as the result of thrust faulting at shallow depths near the Chilean coast. Although Tuesday's quake was at a shallow - and potentially damaging - 12.5 miles below the seabed, Baldwin said other factors could have dampened its effects, such as the direction of the waves and the distance of the epicenter from populated areas. “How much is it luck? UTC (USGS 2014). Some 220,000 homes were destroyed as large parts of many coastal communities were washed away. The last time she presided over a major quake, days before the end of her 2006-10 term, her emergency preparedness office prematurely waved off a tsunami danger. At the location of the earthquake, the Nazca plate subducts eastward beneath the South America plate at a velocity of 72 mm/yr. But the system has its shortcomings: the government has yet to install tsunami warning sirens in parts of Arica, leaving authorities to shout orders by megaphone. How much is it science? But the key point here is that this magnitude-8.2 is not the large earthquake that we were expecting for this area. Strict building regulations enforced due to Chile's history of violent seismology have been credited with minimizing the death toll in the wake of Tuesday's magnitude-8.2 earthquake. Alberto Maturana, the former director of Chile’s Emergency Office, said Chileans were lucky the quake hadn’t caught them in the middle of the day when parents and children are separated, or in the middle of the night. In Buenos Aires , Argentina , a man died from a stroke while he was evacuating a building. Chile earthquake of 1960, the largest earthquake recorded in the 20th century. The U.S. Geological Survey said more than 60 significant aftershocks, including one of magnitude 6.2, followed the Tuesday night quake centered 61 miles (99 kilometers) northwest of Iquique. By early Wednesday, the latest quake had killed just six people. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's efficient response to this week's earthquake is a far cry from her handling ... 2014 file photo. I think what we just saw here is pure luck. Receive latest stories and local news in your email: Fishing boats washed ashore by a small tsunami, sit in Caleta Riquelme, adjacent to the port, in the northern town of Iquique, Chile, after magnitude 8.2 earthqauke struck the northen coast of Chile, Wednesday, April 2, 2014. IQUIQUE, Chile -- Hard-won expertise and a big dose of luck helped Chile escape its latest magnitude-8.2 earthquake with surprisingly little damage and death. About 2,500 homes were damaged in Alto Hospicio, a poor neighborhood in the hills above Iquique, a city of nearly 200,000 people whose coastal residents joined a mandatory evacuation ahead of a tsunami that rose to only 8 feet. “We know these two plates come together at about 6, 7 centimeters a year, and if you multiply that by 140 years then the plates should have moved about 11 meters along the fault, and you can make an estimate of the size of earthquake we expect here.”. The country that suffers some of the world’s most powerful quakes has strict building codes, mandatory evacuations and emergency preparedness that set a global example. Most of the 500 dead from that magnitude-8.8 tremor survived the shaking, only to be caught in killer waves. ... Chile, on Thursday, a day after an earthquake hit the country. The town of Iquique in Chile was the epicenter of an 8.2 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday night. Chile is one of the world’s most seismic countries and is particularly prone to tsunamis, because of the way the Nazca tectonic plate plunges beneath the South American plate, pushing the towering Andes cordillera ever higher. "Maybe the reports of falling debris are due to some previously weakened buildings being destroyed, but other than that Chile does a very good job of enforcing building codes.". But given the magnitude of the quake, the death toll announced so far is minor. Published: 2014-04-03, Residents stay on the top floor of their building during a vertical evacuation in Iquique on Tuesday. [4] [5] [9] For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The world's strongest recorded earthquake devastates Chile, with a reading of 9.5 on the Richter scale. And fewer than 15 percent of Chileans have downloaded the smartphone application that can alert them to evacuation orders. By John F. Shroder, PhD Posted on 8 April 2014 When the magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck northern Chile last week; the enormous release of energy caused the Earth to ring like a bell thereafter, seismographically as well as metaphorically speaking. It is a combination of all of the above. Residents stay on the top floor of their building during a vertical evacuation in Iquique on Tuesday. The Chilean government reported 15 deaths, 6 missing and thousands of people affected. No fatality was reported due to the tsunami although some damage to coastal areas was reported. Interior Minister Jorge Burgos said Thursday night that the death toll stood at 12 and five people were listed as missing. ... as seen in the 2014 quake and again this week. A powerful aftershock hit Chile's far-northern coast late April 2, 2014, shaking the same area where a magnitude-8.2 earthquake hit just a day before causing some damage and six deaths. At least 11 people died in Wednesday's 8.3-magnitude quake - … A 12th death was confirmed Thursday in the aftermath of a massive 8.3-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile the day before, … Fishing boats were destroyed in Iquique, Chile, when a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake hit off the country's Pacific coast, generating tsunami waves that might ripple as far as Indonesia. “This is the one remaining gap that hasn’t had an earthquake in the last 140 years,” said Simons. Haiti's quake, on the other hand, was "no match for the homes and buildings," it said. Earthquake death toll tops 80 in Turkey and Greece The powerful earthquake that hit the Aegean Sea on Friday has killed 79 people in Turkey, the country's disaster agency said Sunday. Chile govt revised quake death toll to 279. The death toll rose to six Wednesday in the 8.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile’s northern coast — a tremblor that knocked out power at a woman’s prison and … IQUIQUE, Chile (CNN) The death toll from an 8.2-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of northern Chile rose to at least six on Wednesday, the Chilean office of national emergency said. The earthquake caused a death toll of at least seven in Chile and left over 200 injured (IOC-ITIC 2014). IE 11 is not supported. It’s possible that other people were killed in older structures made of adobe in remote communities that weren’t immediately accessible, but it’s still a very low toll for such a powerful shift in the undersea fault that runs along the length of South America’s Pacific coast. Authorities lifted tsunami warnings for Chile's long coastline early Wednesday. Just a month later, a magnitude-8.8 quake hit Chile but killed far fewer people, with the death toll reaching around 500. "The area has hit by many quakes in the past so this event is nothing new for them," said Randy Baldwin, a Denver-based geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake caused 6 deaths and triggered a moderate tsunami. We’re actually still expecting potentially an even larger earthquake,” said Mark Simons, a geophysicist at the California Institute of Technology. The shaking that began at 8:46 p.m. Tuesday also touched off landslides that blocked roads, knocked out power for thousands, briefly closed regional airports and started fires that destroyed several businesses. Six people were crushed to death or suffered fatal heart attacks, a remarkably low toll for such a powerful shift in the Earth's crust.