27 February , Chile
On Saturday, February 27th, at 3:34 am local time, a devastating magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. The earthquake had its epicenter some 100 kilometers west of Concepcion, Chile's second largest city with 600'000 inhabitants. Up to now, over 700 persons have been reported to be killed, 2 million people to be displaced, injured or otherwise impaired by the disaster. First damage estimates by Eqecat, a Californinan Risk Analysis company result in about 30 bn US$, half of them due to damage to residential buildings, and the other half due to damage to critical infrastructures, commercial and industrial facilities. Many roads are blocked due to collpased bridges. The earthquake also triggered a Tsunami which caused heavy damage along parts of the Chilean coast. Tsunami warnings across the Pacific rim had been issued - fortunately no damage have been reported from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Russia, Hawai and other Pacific Islands. Chile is one of the most earthquake prone countries worldwide. The reason is that the tectonic Nazca Plate is colliding with the South American plate and being submerged with a horizontal speed of up to 8 cm/ yr.
EERI Learning from Earthquake Program
EERI's Learning from Earthquakes Program, with support from the U.S.
National Science Foundation, has organized and deployed a large
reconnaissance team to Chile.
Visiting distinct areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami
First Briefing on Chile: Watch via Web
The First Briefing starts at 5. 45 AM CET. Please read directions here.
More information:
See more pictures here:
