Earthquakes occur quite frequently, but not all of them are intense enough to be felt by us. Some of these earthquakes are felt as light tremors, while some are catastrophic enough to rock our homes. One such earthquake which went down the memory lane as the biggest earthquake ever recorded by the seismologists was the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960. The impact of this earthquake was not just restricted to the South American nation of Chile, but was also felt by the other nations which shared the Pacific coastline with it.
The Great Chilean Earthquake: The Biggest Earthquake Ever Recorded
The Great Chilean earthquake occurred at 1411 hours (19:11 GMT) on the 22 May, 1960. With a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale, this was undoubtedly the largest earthquake ever recorded in the world. The epicenter of this earthquake was the Chilean city of Cañete, located at around 435 miles from Santiago - the capital of Chile. The worst hit city was Valdivia, located at around 533 miles from the capital. (Owing to this fact, the Great Chilean earthquake is sometimes also referred to as the 1960 Valdivia earthquake.) The tsunamis triggered by this earthquake further worsened the situation, as waves measuring 80 feet ravaged the coastal areas of South America. The impact of these waves was felt as far as the Japanese and the Australian coasts, which recorded waves measuring as high as 35 feet. If the United States Geological Survey estimates are to be believed, around 1,655 people lost their lives owing to this earthquake, while other reports even suggested around 6,000 dead. The damage caused due to it amounted to a whopping $800 million.
Was it the Biggest Earthquake known to the Mankind?
The distinction of being the biggest earthquake ever recorded that the Great Chilean earthquake boasts of, also relies on the fact that the Richter scale, i.e. the scale of 1 to 10 used to express the magnitude of an earthquake, was not developed until as recently as in 1930s. This means that, if at all some earthquake more severe than the Great Chilean earthquake had ever occurred before the 1930s, it must have surely gone unnoticed. In such a scenario, the only way to find out which was the largest earthquake in the history is to determine the severity of the earthquake in terms of the damage caused. Taking this into consideration, there have been several earthquakes which were much more fierce than the Great Chilean quake. For instance, the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake, one of the major earthquakes in China that killed around a million people, can easily be the biggest earthquake ever in history, but unfortunately it went unrecorded. Read more on how are earthquakes measured.
Other Powerful Earthquakes
Coming back to the Richter scale and the largest earthquakes ever recorded, the second biggest earthquake ever recorded on the seismograph was the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which measured 9.3 on the Richter scale and killed 300,000 people in Southeast Asia. In terms of magnitude, these two earthquakes are followed by the 1964 Alaska earthquake (aka the Good Friday earthquake) with a magnitude of 9.2, the 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1, and the 1952 Kamchatka earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale. Read more on earthquakes in Alaska.
More interesting information about the earthquakes:
By Abhijit Naik
PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE 1945 - THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI OF 28
The Great Chilean Earthquake: The Biggest Earthquake Ever Recorded
The Great Chilean earthquake occurred at 1411 hours (19:11 GMT) on the 22 May, 1960. With a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale, this was undoubtedly the largest earthquake ever recorded in the world. The epicenter of this earthquake was the Chilean city of Cañete, located at around 435 miles from Santiago - the capital of Chile. The worst hit city was Valdivia, located at around 533 miles from the capital. (Owing to this fact, the Great Chilean earthquake is sometimes also referred to as the 1960 Valdivia earthquake.) The tsunamis triggered by this earthquake further worsened the situation, as waves measuring 80 feet ravaged the coastal areas of South America. The impact of these waves was felt as far as the Japanese and the Australian coasts, which recorded waves measuring as high as 35 feet. If the United States Geological Survey estimates are to be believed, around 1,655 people lost their lives owing to this earthquake, while other reports even suggested around 6,000 dead. The damage caused due to it amounted to a whopping $800 million.
Was it the Biggest Earthquake known to the Mankind?
The distinction of being the biggest earthquake ever recorded that the Great Chilean earthquake boasts of, also relies on the fact that the Richter scale, i.e. the scale of 1 to 10 used to express the magnitude of an earthquake, was not developed until as recently as in 1930s. This means that, if at all some earthquake more severe than the Great Chilean earthquake had ever occurred before the 1930s, it must have surely gone unnoticed. In such a scenario, the only way to find out which was the largest earthquake in the history is to determine the severity of the earthquake in terms of the damage caused. Taking this into consideration, there have been several earthquakes which were much more fierce than the Great Chilean quake. For instance, the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake, one of the major earthquakes in China that killed around a million people, can easily be the biggest earthquake ever in history, but unfortunately it went unrecorded. Read more on how are earthquakes measured.
Other Powerful Earthquakes
Coming back to the Richter scale and the largest earthquakes ever recorded, the second biggest earthquake ever recorded on the seismograph was the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which measured 9.3 on the Richter scale and killed 300,000 people in Southeast Asia. In terms of magnitude, these two earthquakes are followed by the 1964 Alaska earthquake (aka the Good Friday earthquake) with a magnitude of 9.2, the 1957 Andreanof Islands earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1, and the 1952 Kamchatka earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale. Read more on earthquakes in Alaska.
More interesting information about the earthquakes:
- Earthquake Facts
- Interesting Facts about Earthquake
- Earthquake Facts: 4 Facts on Earthquakes
- Earthquake Facts: Why do Earthquakes Happen?
By Abhijit Naik
PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE 1945 - THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI OF 28
