Culture Blog

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded hit Chile at 3:45 AM local time on February 27, 2010. It was rated a magnitude of 8.8 on the Richter Scale and caused devastating damage throughout the country. The earthquake has said to kill over 400 people in Chile and left another 1.5 million people displaced. There were over 50 aftershocks following the initial earthquake leaving the citizens of Chile worried and fearful that another destructive quake could be striking. Researchers feared that the quake was strong enough to send Tsunamis across the Pacific Ocean so there were warnings in several places reaching from Antarctica, to Hawaii, to Japan. Although the Tsunamis never reached these places, the waves did cause damage to several islands along the way. On the main land, at least one apartment complex was destroyed by the earthquake and a highway had been ripped apart. This earthquake was the biggest one Chile has seen in 50 years and it will take the country months and possible years to recuperate from yet another tragic natural disaster.

See this website for photos of some of the damage in Chile.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/earthquake_in_chile.html