Today's Report
Feb. 27/10 0800 JST
Position:
39°49'S, 73°15'W (Valdivia Marina)
An 8.8 magnitude earthquake near Concepcion, Chile, has been reported. The quake struck at 3:34 am local time.
Google Earth shows the epicenter as 265 miles due north of Valdivia.
We have no indication whether Valdivia has been affected as well, and hope for the best for all the people of the area. A tsunami warning has been issued, and a 9-foot tsunami was reported along the coastal area. A news article can be accessed here.
North and south along the coast near the epicenter, tsunami waves were reported to be 16 feet.
Buildings in Santiago 185 miles north of the epicenter were said to have collapsed. CNN reported the earthquake as much as 1,000 times stronger than the recent earthquake in Haiti, which suffered a 7.0 quake.
Updates on the earthquake can be accessed here.
By comparison, the Great Hanshin earthquake that devastated Kobe in 1995 registered 6.8 magnitude.
Valdivia had the historical misfortune of being the site of the largest earthquake ever recorded, registering 9.5 magnitude in 1960. It was named the "1960 Valdivia Earthquake" (also the Great Chilean Earthquake), produced tsunamis as far away as Japan, the Philippines, and Alaska, and destroyed downtown Hilo, Hawaii.
North and south along the coast near the epicenter, tsunami waves were reported to be 16 feet.
Buildings in Santiago 185 miles north of the epicenter were said to have collapsed. CNN reported the earthquake as much as 1,000 times stronger than the recent earthquake in Haiti, which suffered a 7.0 quake.
A tsunami warning was issued for the entire Pacific Basin including California and Japan. At 9 am local time, 74 persons had been reported killed in Chile.
Updates on the earthquake can be accessed here.
By comparison, the Great Hanshin earthquake that devastated Kobe in 1995 registered 6.8 magnitude.
Valdivia had the historical misfortune of being the site of the largest earthquake ever recorded, registering 9.5 magnitude in 1960. It was named the "1960 Valdivia Earthquake" (also the Great Chilean Earthquake), produced tsunamis as far away as Japan, the Philippines, and Alaska, and destroyed downtown Hilo, Hawaii.
The Valdivia River on which Nicole BMW Shuten-dohji III is presently moored rose 4 meters immediately after the 1960 quake, according to Wikipedia.
No word had been received from Saito-san at the time of this posting.
No word had been received from Saito-san at the time of this posting.
