The Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960
On May 22, 1960 at 7:11 in the evening, the strongest earthquake ever recorded
in earth’s history shook Chile. The massive earthquake not only impacted cities in Chile
such as Puerto Montt and Valdivia, but the impact of this natural hazard was felt across
the Pacific Ocean in countries that were damaged by a catastrophic tsunami triggered
by the earthquake (See Figure 1). This earthquake shook the entire world and caused
widespread destruction and casualties. Because of The Great Chilean Earthquake’s
power and global effect, I selected this event to research. I was interested to find out
more details about the event such as if the world was prepared for an earthquake this
large, the long-term effects, and how the world reacted to The Great Chilean
Earthquake and if it changed people’s views on natural hazards or resulted in new
policies or precautions that are still in effect today.
Chile lies over the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. For thousands of
years there has been a subduction zone between the two plates with the Nazca Plate
subducting beneath the South American plate (See Figure 2). At this subduction zone,
tension built and was released when the Nazca Plate moved fifteen meters under the
South American Plate. Typically the Nazca Plate moves only nine centimeters a year,
but the large sudden amount of movement and tension resulted in a 9.5 magnitude
earthquake. As the Nazca Plate moved, a large amount of water in the Pacific Ocean
also moved with the force of a magnitude 9.5 earthquake pushing the tsunami hundreds
of miles. The waves were pushed across the Pacific Ocean and capsized onto the
shores of Hawaii, Japan, Australia, California, and New Zeeland. Chile was also
impacted by a tsunami. In less than fifteen minutes after the earthquake, Valdivia was
hit by a tsunami with a five meter wave. Then it was followed by one with a wave of
eight meters and a final tsunami wave eleven meters high. The earthquake caused
another secondary effect: landslides. The seismic motion from the shaking of the earth
caused huge landslides across Chile. Enormous flows of debris and water from both the
earthquake and tsunami rushed across the Chilean landscape causing floods. Also on
May 24, 1960 Volcano Puyehue erupted. Ash was sent up 6,000 meters in the air for
several days (See Figure 4). Although the eruption occurred just two days after the
earthquake, scientists aren’t positive if there is a correlation between the two events.
However it is known that when the Nazca Plate subducted beneath the South American
Plate on May 22, 1960 it caused more than just an earthquake, the subduction zone
also caused catastrophic tsunamis and landslides.
The Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 caused extensive damage across the
globe. The total damage from around the world cost 675.5 million dollars. 5,700 people
were killed from both the earthquake and tsunami combined. Over two million people
were left homeless and over three thousand were injured. Although Chile is an
earthquake prone area, the buildings weren’t properly prepared for an earthquake of
this high of magnitude. Buildings collapsed from the shaking and one out of every three
buildings in Valdivia was destroyed (See Figure 3). The Chilean government reported
that 58,622 homes were demolished. The blow to Chile’s economy was also very
damaging, especially for the coastal town Queule which had just began to thrive during
the 1950’s. The town’s agriculture industry was destroyed because farms and livestock
were wiped out. Many small farm towns like Queule were faced with reconstruction and
were never able to return to their thriving state and were forced into economic decline.
The cities most impacted by the earthquake in Chile include: Puerto Montt, Valdivia, Rio
Negro, Lebu, Concepcion, Maldivia, Alerce, Valdivia, Rinihue, Totoral, and
Villarica. Although the earthquake had an astonishing 9.5 magnitude, most of the
damage in Chile was caused by the tsunami that hit soon after and then proceeded to
move across the Pacific Ocean to leave its mark on other countries. The Philippians,
Japan, California, Hawaii, New Zeeland, and Australia were all impacted by the historic
tsunami. In Hawaii the city of Hilo was the most impacted by the tsunami. Because if its
position on the cost, and with the tsunami moving across the Pacific Ocean at a speed
of up to 200 miles/hour, the city was devastated and sixty one people were killed. It took
twenty two hours for the tsunami reach Japan and 142 lives were lost. The most
damage from this natural hazard was caused by the tsunami, nevertheless considerable
damage was done by the landslides that occurred shortly after. Luckily, the greatest
landslides occurred in rural areas so there was no significant economic damage; only
destroyed landscapes. However, one landslide caused significant damage to Route
215-CH, a major highway that connects to Argentina. The debris from the landslide
blocked the outflow of Rinihue Lake. When the water flooded and burst through the dam
Puyehue Lake also flooded, destroying the nearby major highway. Overall the
landslides caused no significant damage compared to the damage from the earthquake
and tsunami. The volcano eruption also didn’t cause damage because it was located
between two unpopulated valleys. The damage from The Great Chilean Earthquake
was extensive and changed the world’s view on natural hazards. An emergency
committee was formed to solve the problems caused by the earthquake. In 1974 the
committee was officially named ONEMI, an acronym that in Spanish stands for National
Emergency and Information Office. ONEMI still works with Chile to help deal with
aftermaths of natural hazards. Not only did The Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960
forever change the earth from its enormous release of energy, but people’s lives were
also changed through loss and heartbreak.
No one could have possibly predicted that the greatest earthquake to hit earth
would happen in Chile on May 22, 1960. Earth did however send its own warnings to
the people of Chile through a series of foreshocks that potentially saved hundreds of
lives. The magnitude 9.5 earthquake was preceded by four foreshocks with a magnitude
7.0 or higher. This caused people to rush out of buildings and seek safety on the
streets. When the earthquake finally hit many people were already out of the buildings
when they came tumbling down, saving many lives. Scientists still don’t have the means
to be able to accurately predict the exact time or location an earthquake will hit.
However, they can look at the earthquake patterns in Chile to try to give a rough
estimate of when the next major earthquake will occur. Researchers are closely looking
at Chile’s past earthquakes and using new scientific tools to try to be able to predict
future catastrophic earthquakes such as The Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960.
Scientists are using computer simulations to show the stress build up and they
prediction that once the stress build up is released an earthquake similar to the one
Charles Darwin observed in 1835 will occur. Because of the earthquake patterns in
Chile researchers say that indicators of the onset of these earthquakes can be used to
predict the magnitude and fracture of future earthquakes. Scientist Onno Oncken of the
German Center for Geosciences explains, “Patterns offer us a unique opportunity to
compare detailed observations prior to the earthquake with those taken during and after
it, and to re-evaluate hypotheses regarding the predictability of such events” (Live
Science). However, despite all advances in earthquake study researchers understand
that earthquake prediction is still impossible. Because earthquakes are unpredictable,
it’s important that vulnerable countries such as Chile are always prepared. The Great
Chilean Earthquake of 1960 proved to the world that a magnitude 9.5 earthquake is
very possible and thus Chile’s building should designed to withstand such an event and
prevent catastrophic damage and a repeat of the events in 1960.
The Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 struck Chile, but impacted the world. This
event effected the lives of people around the globe and still holds the title of the biggest
earthquake to ever hit earth.
Figure 1
The image abouve shows the epicenter of the earthquake near Valdiva, Chile. The path
and intensity of the tsunami produced by the earthquake is also shown.
Figure 2
The Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South American Plate.
Figure 3
Above is an image of the destruction in Valdivia after The Great Chilean Earthquake of
1960 and the series of tsunamis that soon hit after
Figure 4
On May 24, 1960 Volcao Puyehue errupted, shooting smoke and ash up into the air.
References
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USGS: “Historic Earthquakes”
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1960_05_22.php
Encyclopedia Britannica: “Chile Earthquake of 1960”
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1421130/Chile-earthquake-of1960
Live Science: “Chilean Quake Observers say Patterns are Predictable”
http://www.livescience.com/29674-chilean-quake-observers-say-patternsare-predictable.html
Data.Gov: “Great Chilean Earthquake of May 22, 1960-Anniversary Edition”
http://catalog.data.gov/dataset/great-chile-earthquake-of-may-22-1960anniversary-edition
Extreme Science: “Greatest Earthquake: 1960, Chile, South America”
http://www.extremescience.com/greatest-earthquake.htm