Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on February 27, 2010

Al Jazeera Reports: Deadly earthquake strikes Chile | February 27, 2010

A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile early today, producing powerful aftershocks and triggering a tsunami, which is anticipated to hit Hawaii and other islands and nations later today.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located off the coast in Maule, near the city of Concepción, 320 km from the capital city of Santiago.

At least 120 people have already been confirmed dead and the death toll expected to rise.

From Lauren Frayer, AOL News, Massive Earthquake Hits Chile:

A 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit south of Chile’s capital early this morning, severing power and phone lines, triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific and rattling buildings through South America. By midday some 120 deaths had been reported and the death toll was rising quickly.

Panicked people streamed into the streets of the capital Santiago, some 200 miles north of the epicenter, after the first quake hit around 3:30 a.m. local time. It shook buildings for up to 90 seconds, witnesses said. Weeping survivors hugged and cried out in the pre-dawn darkness.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe.” It’s the biggest quake to hit Chile in 50 years.

A tsunami warning is in effect for neighboring countries of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica as well as farther-flung Hawaii, Australia, Russia and Pacific nations. A tsunami advisory was issued for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands, The Associated Press reported.

Authorities on the islands of American Samoa and Samoa told residents to move to higher grounds.

Chilean television aired footage of collapsed buildings and bridges, cars buried under rubble and bloodied residents wandering dazed in front of fractured apartment houses. “Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it’s like the end of the world,” Reuters quoted a survivor as telling local TV in the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged buildings and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

“We are in the process of finding out about the effects of the quake across the region, the state of the roads and hospitals, the damage to buildings and of course the number of those killed and injured,” Bachelet told reporters before heading into an emergency meeting to fix downed communication lines. “We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately. Without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths.”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the White House is monitoring the situation, including the potential for a tsunami in Hawaii. Gibbs also says U.S. is ready to help “in this hour of need,” the AP reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the temblor at an 8.8-magnitude, with two dozen aftershocks in the hours afterward, including one that was 6.9-magnitude. A quake of magnitude 8 or above is considered a “great” earthquake that can cause “tremendous damage,” according to the USGS Web site. By comparison, the earthquake that devastated Haiti’s capital last month was rated a magnitude 7.0.

Because the scale is exponential, today’s seismic event was about 500 times more powerful than the one in Haiti. How much damage an earthquake actually makes depends not only on magnitude but also on depth, local geology, population density and building codes.

“This quake is much larger [than in Haiti], and it’s occurring in an area that has a history of generating large quakes in the past,” Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado, told AOL News. “I don’t know if that [history] ultimately affected building codes [in Chile]. It’s hard to project damage at this early stage.”

Al Jazeera Reports: Chile’s earthquake explained | February 27, 2010

The Guardian, Chile earthquake: Pacific nations brace for tsunami:

A wide array of Pacific nations, including the US, Australia, the Philippines to Japan, are bracing for potentially devastating tidal waves after a massive earthquake in Chile triggered a tsunami that is radiating across the ocean.

The quake, with a magnitude of 8.8, has killed at least 122 people in mainland Chile and prompted the evacuation of coastal areas on Easter Island – famous for its monumental stone statues – as well as Samoa and American Samoa.

Countries across the Asia-Pacific region are readying emergency measures drawn up after the Indian Ocean quake of 2004, with the tsunami expected to hit in the next 24 hours.

Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing Chilean president, declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile and said a huge tidal wave had swept into the Juan Fernandez Islands. Local radio stations reported serious damage on the archipelago, which reputedly inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe.

The president-elect, Sebastian Pinera, said more than 122 people had died in the quake, and the toll was rising quickly. Bachelet said there were more than 85 deaths just in the Maule region, at the quake’s epicentre.

“We have had a huge earthquake with some aftershocks. We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately. Without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths,” Bachelet said.

Chile’s interior minister, Edmundo Perez Yoma, said: “It has been a devastating earthquake. The death toll will continue rising.”

Warnings of tidal waves were issued in 53 other countries. The Pacific tsunami warning centre said the quake had generated a wave that could cause destruction along nearby shores “and could also be a threat to more distant coasts”. It issued a tsunami warning for Chile, Peru and Hawaii, while Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica are also on alert.

From The Christian Science Monitor:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House is “closely monitoring the situation” following the Chile earthquake. A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday killing at least 78 people. The massive quake plunged much of the Chilean capital, Santiago, into darkness as it snapped power lines and severed communications, and AFP journalists spoke of walls and masonry collapsing.

From LAist, Series of Small Earthquakes Strike Central California as Huge Quakes Rock Japan and Chile:

Microquakes have been shaking the Coso Junction area of Eastern Central California all week, but it wasn’t until tonight when more noticeable ones struck. A light 4.1 earthquake struck at 10:22 p.m., followed by two minor shakers–a 3.8 at 11:10 p.m. and a 3.4 at 11:21 p.m.

Meanwhile, today has been subject of two much stronger quakes. A 7.0 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Okinawa, Japan in the Ryukyu Islands around 5:31 a.m. Saturday local time, or 12:31 p.m. Friday Pacific Standard Time. There have been no reports of major damage or injuries.

Then at 10:34 p.m. PST, an 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Maule, Chile, causing buildings to collapse and power outages in the Chilean capital Santiago. “My mom and little brother lost everything but their lives. Thank God!” said a relative living in Southern California. “When morning comes over there we will know more about the damages.”

In 1960, Chile experienced a 9.5 magnitude quake that left 1,655 people dead.

A strange claim from wacko Farrakhan… read about it at Founding Bloggers: Farrakhan Takes Credit For Chile Earthquake

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