What was the magnitude of the Chile Earthquake May 22 1960?
magnitude 9.5
On May 22, 1960, the most powerful earthquake in recorded history—magnitude 9.5—struck southern Chile. The rupture zone stretched from estimates ranging from 500 kilometers (311 miles) to almost 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) along the country’s coast.
What was the magnitude of Valdivia?
1960 Valdivia earthquake
| Valdivia after the 22 May earthquake | |
|---|---|
| Iquique Santiago Punta Arenas | |
| Magnitude | 9.4–9.6 Mw |
| Depth | 33 km (21 mi) |
| Epicenter | 38.24°S 73.05°WCoordinates:38.24°S 73.05°W |
What magnitude earthquake would destroy the world?
The absolute bare minimum it takes to destroy the Earth is if a magnitude 18.33402 earthquake shook the Earth.
What caused the 9.5 earthquake in Chile?
A sudden breaking in the rocks along a roughly 560–620-mile (900–1,000-km) stretch of the Nazca Plate caused the earthquake, which has been generally agreed to have had a magnitude of 9.5—the largest earthquake recorded in the 20th century. Learn more about plate tectonics.
What caused the Valdivia earthquake 1960?
The 1960 Chile earthquake was caused by the Nazca plate releasing tension and descending 15 meters underneath the South American Plate. It happened 30.5 km off the Chilean coast.
Did the 1960 Chile earthquake cause a tsunami?
Both the 1960 Chile earthquake and the 1700 Cascadia earthquake were caused by sudden ruptures of long segments of subduction zones. Each of these quakes generated a tsunami that not only struck nearby coastal areas but also caused damage in coastal areas as far away as Japan.
What caused the 1960 Valdivia earthquake?
How many people died in the Chile 1960 tsunami?
This quake occurred along the coast of Chile on May 22, 1960. In Chile, the earthquake and the tsunami that followed took more than 2,000 lives and caused property damage estimated at $550 million (1960 dollars). From Chile the tsunami radiated outward, killing 61 people in Hawaii and 122 in Japan.
Has there ever been a 11 earthquake?
No, earthquakes of magnitude 10 or larger cannot happen. The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault on which it occurs. That is, the longer the fault, the larger the earthquake.
Is a 20.0 earthquake possible?
To produce a magnitude 10.5 earthquake, you’d need a fault length of about 80,000 km. And given that the Earth’s circumference is only about 40,000 km, that would be highly unlikely. With all that considered, a magnitude 20 earthquake seems pretty impossible.
How many deaths were in the Valdivia earthquake?
1,6551960 Valdivia earthquake / Number of deaths
Approximately 1,655 killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile; tsunami caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.
How did the 1960 Chile earthquake affect the environment?
Sinking of the ground due to the earthquake, known as subsidence, produced local flooding in Chile. This permanently altered the shorelines of much of the area in Chile impacted by the earthquake, rendering all marine navigational charts of the affected areas obsolete.
What was the magnitude of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake?
The second earthquake happened the following day at 06:32 and had a magnitude of 6.8, while the third was sized 7.9 and happened at 14:55 on 22nd May, just 15 minutes before the Valdivia earthquake. The epicenter of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake lay around 100 miles of the coast of Chile in the Pacific Ocean.
How big was the earthquake in Chile in 1960?
It does notprovide information on the height nor the strength of the wave, only the arrival times Southern Chile Earthquake and Tsunami, 22 May 1960 On May 22, 1960 a great Mw 9.5 earthquake, the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded, occurred off the coast of southern Chile.
How long did aftershocks last after the Valdivia earthquake?
Aftershocks were recorded for around a month after the main tremor. On 24 May, 38 hours after the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the Cordón-Caulle volcano in Los Lagos region of Chile erupted after nearly 40 years of inactivity. Some seismologists believe the eruption was linked to the Valdivia earthquake.
What were the effects of the Valdivia earthquake?
• It has been estimated that about 40% of the houses in Valdivia were destroyed. The most effected were concrete structures due to lack of earthquake engineering. Some city blocks remained empty in population, but heavily with debris until the 1990’s and even the 2000’s. The earthquake destroyed flood barriers, which exposed new areas to flooding.