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The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami (Spanish: Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (Gran terremoto de Chile) occurred on 22 May 1960.Most studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale, [1] while some studies have placed the magnitude lower than 9.4.
Chile lies in a region which is adjacent to the fast-moving Nazca plate, and has high tectonic activity.The records for earlier centuries are apparently incomplete. Of the world's 46 known earthquakes with M ≥ 8.5 since the year 1500, one-third occurred in Chile [citation needed] and are shown in the map to the side.
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck northern Chile near its border with Argentina late Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, shaking homes and causing power outages. There were no immediate ...
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 9:33 a.m. local time (12:33 p.m. GMT), and its epicenter was 42 kilometers (26 miles) southwest of Huasco, a city in Chile’s Atacama region.
The largest recorded megathrust earthquake was the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, estimated between magnitudes 9.4–9.6, centered off the coast of Chile along the Peru-Chile Trench, where the Nazca plate subducts under the South American plate. [26] This megathrust region has regularly generated extremely large earthquakes.
The 1939 Chillán earthquake occurred in south-central Chile on 24 January with a surface-wave magnitude of 8.3 [1] and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme).With a death toll of around 28,000, [4] compared to the 2,231–6,000 (official estimates vary greatly) [5] [6] of the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960, it is the single deadliest earthquake in Chile.
The devastating impact of the earthquake highlighted the urgent need for a national seismological service. The administration of Pedro Montt, then president of Chile, founded it under the name Chilean Seismological Service on May 1, 1908. [5] The service was the idea of Valentín Letelier, a former director of the University of Chile.
Two days after the main shock of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest earthquake recorded in history, Cordón Caulle erupted. [17] The eruption was believed to have been caused by the earthquake. [17] The earthquake had struck the whole of Chile between Talca (30°S) and Chiloé (43°S) and had an estimated moment magnitude of 9.5.