27 February, 2010, Saturday, at 3.34am (GMT-4) Chilean time, Chile experienced its strongest earthquake since the 1960 9.5 magnitude Valdivia earthquake. It occurred along the boundary between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. The two plates converge at a rate of 80mm/year. The cause of this recent 8.8 magnitude earthquake was the subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate. A total of 214 people have been reported dead, with more casualties possible. According to an Associated Press Television News cameraman, some buildings have collapsed in Santiago and there are power outages in parts of the city. Phone lines were down in the country too. Santiago's International Airport has also been reported damaged, and the authorities have off all flight operation for a couple of hours. The Santiago Fine Arts Museum was also damaged. Three hospitals in Santiago had also collapsed, a dozen more south of the capital also suffered significant damage. Fires and damaged buildings were also reported in Concepción. An aftershock of magnitude 6.2 was recorded after the initial quake. Subsequently, two more aftershocks were recorded with a magnitudes 5.4 and 5.4. A tsunami amplitude of up to 2.6 m high was also recorded in the sea at Valparaiso, Chile. Another tsunami with the amplitude of 2.34 m was recorded at Talcahuano in the Biobío Region.
The quake also caused many buildings and houses to collapse in Santiago. It also knocked out a major bridge connecting the northern section to the southern section of the country. Three emergency respond teams had been dispatched to the coastal areas by the Chilean government. Many countries have been issued a tsunami warning by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre after the earthquake. I think that the Chilean government should install a earthquake warning system if possible. Then, necessary precautions can be made in case of an earthquake. People would then be notified and make a evacuation to a safer place.
