Earthquake in Chile

[OakLeaf]

Chilepepper, you okay? Don't we have someone else in Chile also? Stay safe, gals.

[shootingstar]

Here, they have just issued an emergency warning for tsunami after -effects for coast of British Columbia. Any after shock waves are expected to reach our coast at approx. 3:00 pm today. Wonder if they will allow British Columbia ferrries to run later today along the coast.

Keep in mind, there are thousands of people taking the ferries between Vancouver Island and Vancouver area for the Olympics. Last weekend, the ferries were packed with FOOT passengers, and alot less cars...which is atypical.

An emergency warning also given to Hawaii, Japan, etc.
Chile earthquake was 8.8 on Richter scale, which is strong.

[Trek420]

Strong is an understatement of an 8.8 :o Thoughts and prayers to our Chilepepper and all those in Chile. I'm sure phones much less internet are down, communication difficult. We might not hear details from any southern hemisphere TE'rs for a while. :(

[Chile Pepper]

Thanks, everyone. Your well wishes mean a lot. We are fine. We live about six hours north of the epicenter, so we had quite a scare last night (three minutes of some serious shaking), but there was very little damage to our immediate area. We lost a few chunks of concrete off the house, and a huge window frame came out, but thankfully the window stayed in place. My younger son is rather traumatized, but otherwise we are all doing fine--aside from being a bit, er, shaken up.

[Blueberry]

So glad you're OK!!! Thanks for checking in:)

[KnottedYet]

Chilepepper, so glad you are ok! Be safe.

SA and NA westcoasters, HI, and Japan, how are you doing?

Shttingstar: our warning is for less than 1 ft wave differences, so I doubt Vancouver or Tsawassen are going to have a problem with ferries. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011208329_advisory27m.html But this is NOT a good day to go surfing, diving, or swimming! Currents are going to be off and unpredictable.

[malkin]

Just heard from my fam in Honolulu.
Long line at McDonald's this morning. My SIL figured that the sirens woke everybody up and the all went looking for something to eat.

[snapdragen]

Watching CNN, they're focusing on Hilo, the first waves are due any time.

Glad you're OK chili -- hug your boy for us.

Google has a people finder:

http://chilepersonfinder.appspot.com/

[Catrin]

Oh my, I've been away from the news all day - guess it is time to turn on CNN! I hope everyone is safe - I know we have at least one member in Hawaii...

[OakLeaf]

So glad you're safe! Keeping Chile ... and Haiti ... in my thoughts.

[Zen]

I have never ever heard of a quake of this magnitude.
Certainly makes you think twice about complaining about snow.

That must have been terrifying.

[Trek420]

Chilepepper!!! Yay! Thanks for checking in. Yes, quakes can be terrifying. Hug your boy for us.

[KnottedYet]

Well, the e.q. generated 1ft additional waves should be hitting Seattle right now.

Sirens haven't gone off (I'm a couple hundred yards from shore), so I assume the wave increase is per predictions.

I love me those NOAA scientists! This kind of accuracy was so far beyond our technology back when I was in college and learning about tectonics.

[7rider]

I have never ever heard of a quake of this magnitude.


The December 26, 2004 earthquake off Indonesia that triggered that tsunami was a 9.0.
Both are dam big.
Glad you're okay.
We have a cycling friend who recently retired to Chile. We're still waiting to hear word from him.

ETA: Just heard from our friend. He, too, was shaken, but he, family and friends are fine. Whew!

[7rider]

I love me those NOAA scientists!

<<cough, cough>>
Thanks. :o
(No, I'm not one of those, but I know and work with lots of 'em)

[snapdragen]

The Alaskan earthquake in 1964 was huge too, 9.2. The resulting tsunami hit Crescent City California and devastated the downtown area. Scary stuff.

[Trek420]

I forget how that exponential thang goes :( Is an 8.00 100x more than a 7.0 like the one that leveled Haiti? Think so.

Thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost or missing in Chile. Yet it really says something about the infrastructure and preparation of Chile compared with the poverty in Haiti. :( And that it could have been much worse. Buildings and bridges can and will be rebuilt, thousands of lives are irreplaceable. :(

http://www.tsunami.org

[shootingstar]

Just heard from my fam in Honolulu.
Long line at McDonald's this morning. My SIL figured that the sirens woke everybody up and the all went looking for something to eat.

LOL. However food is a necessity.....McDonald's the refuge, the sanctuary.:p

Yes, the warning for our area was downgraded 3 hrs. after I posted my lst comment in this thread. It is abit worrisome that there has been sufficient earthquake activity, including the Haiti disaster in the past few months.

[KnottedYet]

<<cough, cough>>
Thanks. :o
(No, I'm not one of those, but I know and work with lots of 'em)

I love you, and your coworkers!! Kiss, kiss!! You guys rock!

[Zen]

The Alaskan earthquake in 1964 was huge too, 9.2..

I didn't know it was that big.
We moved to Anchorage right after that, they still hadn't rebuilt the schools so we had to go to school in shifts, some in the AM and some in the afternoon.
Six year old Zen was very nervous about earthquakes.

[OakLeaf]

According to The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/27/biggest-earthquakes), this was tied for the fifth strongest earthquake in history.

DH did a little googling about how they determine the magnitude of quakes before modern seismographs... from what he read, they look at geological evidence of the tectonic shift and extrapolate the magnitude of the quakes by comparison to the shifts in more recent, accurately measured quakes.

But 7rider knew that. :) Love y'all too!


It is abit worrisome that there has been sufficient earthquake activity, including the Haiti disaster in the past few months.

More than a bit. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327273.800-climate-change-may-trigger-earthquakes-and-volcanoes.html?full=true)

[maillotpois]

Wow Oak - that is a fascinating article.

[tulip]

My thoughts are with the people there who have lost loved ones and are struggling with the whole thing.

I read in several places that it was 500 times stronger than the quake in Haiti. But Chile is a developed country and builds with quakes in mind, thus the difference in destruction.

I'm supposed to go to Chile next week for vacation--a bike tour in the worst-hit area south of Santiago. Don't know yet if it will be on, or if it is, if it will be a relaxing vacation or stressful.

[Chile Pepper]

I'm supposed to go to Chile next week for vacation--a bike tour in the worst-hit area south of Santiago. Don't know yet if it will be on, or if it is, if it will be a relaxing vacation or stressful.

Tulip, you really should postpone your trip. Where were you planning on going? Major bridges along the north-south artery have collapsed, so there is a good chance you won't even be able to get where you are going. Santiago is a mess. Chile is a beautiful country, but I doubt you'll get that impression if you come now! At any rate, let me know if and when you come. It would be fun to meet up.

[tulip]

Tulip, you really should postpone your trip. Where were you planning on going? Major bridges along the north-south artery have collapsed, so there is a good chance you won't even be able to get where you are going. Santiago is a mess. Chile is a beautiful country, but I doubt you'll get that impression if you come now! At any rate, let me know if and when you come. It would be fun to meet up.

Santiago, Zuniga, Santa Cruz, Bucalemu, Duao, Constitucion, Pelluhue...really hard hit areas. Constitucion was wiped out by the tsunami yesterday.

I'm pretty certain that the trip will not go forward; I don't see how it can. I would like to go down there another time, though. I'll be in touch.

I earlier canceled the second half of the vacation to Peru because of the mudslides at Machu Picchu...

Mother Earth is not very happy!

[Tri Girl]

Glad you're OK, Chile Pepper!!
Amazing to believe that the strongest earthquake ever recorded was in Valdivia,Chile in 1960 at 9.5. :eek:
It's fascinating how the earthquake that triggered the Indonesian tsunami was so horrific, but this didn't produce a huge tsunami (thankfully) and it was almost as strong. Maybe because the earthquake was off the coast and the wave went right to land, but this one took the water away from the coast?? I'm fascinated by the tectonic plates, but am saddened by their destructive power.

I'm glad that Chile was prepared for the quake (well, as prepared as you can be along a major fault line). Take care, Chile. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[crazycanuck]

Chilep-good to hear you're ok :)

There are some really dumb people out there...Many surfers on East Coast beaches (Sydneysiders :rolleyes:,....Manly Beach & Bondi in particular) just ignored the tsunami warning & ventured out anyways...

:rolleyes:

[OakLeaf]

I don't know if you looked at the map, but the tsunami "warnings" predicted waves I think 1-2 cm higher than normal for Australia, not much more than that for Hawaii. :rolleyes: I can't find an archived copy of the map now.

[Trek420]

I earlier canceled the second half of the vacation to Peru because of the mudslides at Machu Picchu...

Mother Earth is not very happy!

I dunno, seems like Mother Earth is following you? Pleeeeease don't say "oh well, can't go tour wine country in Chile, California here I come! :D ;) :)" TE CA would all love to see you, really we would :)

I'm gonna surf off and buy another first aid/quake safety kit. Got one for the house, now one for my car or maybe at work ... just my little way of helping the Red Cross. :o

[KnottedYet]

I don't know if you looked at the map, but the tsunami "warnings" predicted waves I think 1-2 cm higher than normal for Australia, not much more than that for Hawaii. :rolleyes: I can't find an archived copy of the map now.

3-6 feet. 1-2 m.

The descriptions of the water sucking away from the beaches in Hawaii before the surges this week (which came every 20 minutes) really gave me the creeps. Especially when I remember the bad tsunami in 2004 and how all those people went out onto the beach as the water sucked away. And then it came back in...

One thing we all learned from 2004 is not to run after the water, and if we are ever on a beach and see it sucking away, run to high ground.

I could see why the surfers in Australia would want to surf in that, but the bigger worry (especially here, with our channels and islands) beyond the additional 3-6 foot wave height is the way currents change with that kind of surge. Surfers may know the currents well, but they can completely change with a tsunami, even if it's only 1-2m.

And, of course, depending on the slope of the beach, a wave 3-6 feet higher than normal can travel quite a distance inland. Even if it's only waist high when it gets to you, standing on what you thought was high ground, it can knock your feet out from under you. Heck, I've been knocked over by knee high water moving fast enough.