1960 Valdivia earthquake

As I was researching the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and tsunami, I started thinking a lot about earthquakes and how devastating they can be.  I started wondering what the most dangerous and strong earthquakes were like.  My research brought me to learn about the Valdivia Earthquake that occurred in 1960.

The Valdivia earthquake is the largest earquake in the earths recorded history.

On May 22, 1960 the plates beneath Chile, South America shook harder than anything ever recorded in history.  The earthquake had a 9.5 magnitude.

This is a record of the seismograph.  As you can see, there was quite a dramatic change
in the lines,  showing just how large and detrimental this earthquake was.

The earthquake had the most affect between the islands of Talca and Chiloe.  There were many islands such as Tolten that were completely destroyed.

 The earthquake killed many people, but it is also a blessing that the earthquake was so strong.  Because the foreshock of the earthquake scared the people so badly, most people were able to flee to safer, higher ground before the 26-foot waves came crashing in.  The death toll from both the earthquake and the tsunami range from between 490 to 6000 casualties.  This number has such a large range because technology and the media were not as advanced, so the actual number of people who died was much harder to calculate correctly.  This number is, however, very small in comparison to the 230,000 men, women and children who were killed during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Because of the burst of energy that came from within the ground, the surface of the earth was changed forever.  In some places, mountains fell on top of cities, burying them from sight.  Other places were completely and permanently covered with ocean water. 

The earthquake in Valdivia also triggered other natural disasters in the surrounding areas including the Riñihuazo Flood and the Cordón Caulle eruption

In 1960, technology and the media was not as developed as it is now.  However, pictures, facts and information were able to be given to the people and although it did take longer for the information to get the people, they eventually found out about the great disaster and were able to provide relief to the victims.

Although there was not as much media coverage in 1960, today there are many websites, articles and information sources that are available for people to learn more about the Valdivia earthquake, along with many other disasters.  These are some sites that I found quite a bit of my information and the pictures.    

http://geology.com/records/largest-earthquake/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chilean_Earthquake

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1960_05_22_seismogram.php