Great Chilean Earthquake

The most powerful earthquake ever recorded took place in Chile in the spring of 1960. The epicenter of the 9.5-magnitude earthquake, locally known as the “Gran Terremoto de Chile,” was the town of Lumaco, but nearby Valdivia was the most affected city. The earthquake took place after a succession of three destructive earthquakes around the city of Concepción (with the highest magnitude at 7.9) and caused a series of deadly tsunamis that affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Fatality estimates vary from 3000 to 6000, and two million people lost their houses. Located in a highly seismic region, on top of the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, Chile is likely to encounter earthquakes at a magnitude of 7.0 or higher every five years. Its long Pacific coastline makes the country vulnerable to tsunamis, as well.