Chile earthquake of 1960, the largest earthquake recorded in the 20th century. Originating off the coast of southern Chile on May 22, 1960, the temblor caused substantial damage and loss of life both in that country and as a result of the tsunamis that it generated in distant Pacific coastal areas. The earthquake hit at 3:11 pm approximately 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Chile, parallel to the city of Valdivia. The shock is generally agreed to have had a magnitude of 9.5, though some studies alternately proposed that it may have been 9.4 or 9.6. A series of foreshocks
Pierre St. Amand/National Geophysical Data Center/NOAA
Top Questions
How much damage was caused by the Chile earthquake of 1960?
The cities of Puerto Montt and Valdivia experienced extensive damage. Several coastal towns were inundated by a 25-metre (80-foot) tsunami. The combined effects of the disaster left two million people homeless. Though the death toll in Chile was never fully resolved, early estimates of deaths worldwide, ranging into the thousands, were scaled back to 1,655. About 3,000 people were injured. The tsunami traveled across the Pacific Ocean in the hours after the earthquake; the waves killed 61 people in Hawaii, nearly 140 in Japan, and 32 in the Philippines.