Massive 8.8-Magnitude Quake Hits Chile







Earthquakes are not uncommon to Chile, a long, mountainous country nestled between the towering Andes and the Pacific Ocean. Some of the strongest seismic activity ever recorded has occurred here. Still, Saturday's quake was the worst in 50 years and government officials cautioned the disaster-shattered country that it will be days before the full impact can assessed and life can begin returning to normalcy.

In a nationally televised address, President Michelle Bachelet said at least 80% of Chile's population of roughly 16 million had been affected by the quake and called on citizens to use water, electricity and fuel rationally as the government tried to determine the extent of the destruction.

"It is still not possible to fully quantify the effects of this catastrophe," a visibly tired but calm Bachelet said. "We are trying by every means possible to bring the country back to normal."

That may take time. Long lines quickly developed at the few gas stations open around the country, and indications emerged that some in Chile were using the disaster to jack up the price of staples, like bread. Some reports said bread was selling for as much as 10,000 pesos per kilogram, ten times the usual price at bakeries.

The quake was massive and felt some 2,000 miles away in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The epicenter was pinpointed offshore, 70 miles northeast of Concepción, Chile's second-biggest city.

Even Santiago, the capital located 200 miles away, was affected by the temblor. An overpass collapsed, leaving a car dangling from it, while the parking lot of a two-story apartment building was demolished, setting of car alarms that rang through the rubble.

At the Four Points hotel in the city's Providencia neighborhood, the quake began with a small vibration that quickly surged into a violent shake, knocking lamps off tables and artwork off the walls. Tourists fled the hotel via a stairwell as water cascaded into the building through cracks in its shattered rooftop. Outside, tourists gathered in the dark while revelers poured out of nightclubs.

Beyond the city, Rafael Galleguillos, on the verge of tears, said he had no idea how he survived a plunge off the side of an overpass that had collapsed on a highway that linked the country's international airport with the capital. A total of seven cars fell off the edge of the overpass, Galleguillos said.

After the drivers helped one another escape from the wreckage, Galleguillos complained that the overpass hadn't weathered the quake. "You pay tolls and taxes and you expect safety," he said.

Observers said Chile was up to the task of rebuilding. With its healthy economy and strong government institutions, the country can respond in ways that other countries, like Haiti, which also suffered a massive earthquake in January, couldn't.

"Chile would be more comparable to Japan or California than Haiti," Patricio Navia, a Chilean political scientist at New York University.

In addition to mounting casualties, authorities will assess significant damage to roadways, ports, and other major infrastructure essential to a country that ranks as the world's biggest exporter of copper, a major producer of other metals and minerals. The government asked residents and tourists not to travel, even from quake-stricken regions, because people attempting to return to Santiago were causing massive traffic jams and damage to roads.

"Road damage was worse than what I expected," said Sergio Bitar, Chile's public works minister, at a press conference.

Bachelet, who is in her final weeks in office, has proven herself to be at her best when the going gets tough, having orchestrated a strong response by Chile to the global economic crisis that erupted in 2008. She and her successor, Sebastián Piñera, scheduled to take office March 11, are working coordinate the change in government so as not to disrupt recovery efforts.

After the quake, the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a "widespread" tsunami warning for all Pacific nations, saying that "sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated" that "could have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts."

As the surge from the quake rolled across the ocean, residents of coastlines where it could hit were preparing for the swell. In Hawaii, where the first waves were expected before mid-day local time, lines formed at supermarkets, as people stocked up on water, food, and batteries.

In Ecuador, up South America's west coast from Chile, President Rafael Correa told local media that a tsunami had passed the Galapagos Islands, causing a swell but no damage.

History of Chile Quakes

May 22, 1960: A magnitude 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile and ensuing tsunami killed at least 1,716 people.

March 27, 1964: A magnitude 9.2 quake in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and ensuing tsunami killed 128 people.

Dec. 26, 2004: A magnitude 9 quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 12 countries, including 165,700 in Indonesia and 35,400 in Sri Lanka.

August 13, 1868: A magnitude 9.0 quake in Arica, Peru (now Chile) generated catastrophic tsunamis; more than 25,000 people were killed in South America.

January 31, 1906: A magnitude 8.8 quake off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia generated a tsunami that killed at least 500 people.

November 1, 1755: A magnitude 8.7 quake and ensuing tsunami in Lisbon, Portugal killed an estimated 60,000 people and destroyed much of Lisbon.

July 8, 1730: A magnitude 8.7 quake in Valparasio, Chile, killed at least 3,000 people.

August 15, 1950: A magnitude 8.6 earthquake in Assam, Tibet, killed at least 780 people.

June 15, 1896: A magnitude 8.5 quake Sanriku, Japan, caused a tsunami that killed at least 22,000 people.

November 11, 1922: A magnitude 8.5 quake on the Chile-Argentina border killed several hundred people.

November 7, 1837: A magnitude 8.5 magnitude quake in Valdivia, Chile generated a tsunami that killed at least 58 people in Hawaii.

October 20, 1687: A magnitude 8.5 quake in Lima, Peru destroyed much of the city.


Local television in Chile reported that the main international airport in Santiago would be closed for the next 72 hours because of damage. Flights were being diverted to Mendoza, in Argentina, and other airports in the region. Mines in the country, including crucial copper facilities, were affected by the quake.

Though the larger mines north of Santiago were still operating, Corporacion Nacional del Cobre, or Codelco, said two mines in southern Chile would be closed until at least Monday. Work at the El Teniente and Andina mines, said a spokeswoman, was suspended because electricity to them has been cut. Miners were also allowed to return home to check on family members.

Much of the fixed-line and mobile telephone systems in the south of the country were disrupted by the earthquake, although there was a "gradual recovery," said Rene Cortazar, transport and communications minister, speaking on local television. Where systems are working there is significant congestion, the minister said, urging people not to use their phones unless it was absolutely necessary.

In Santiago, the Metro subway system was shut down and very few buses were running through the streets. One taxi driver, who had driven through the eastern and southern neighborhoods of the capital, said many of the older houses, especially those made of adobe, were decimated.

"It was a really horrible sight," he said.

In the old center of Curico, a small town in the hard-hit coastal region of Maule, nearly a third of the colonial style buildings were severely damaged. Older brick and adobe buildings were especially susceptible to the force of the temblor, the worst to hit the country since a 9.5-magnitude earthquake shook Chile in 1960. That quake was the strongest ever recorded.

Chilean Red Cross workers started relief efforts in Curico, taping off sidewalks surrounding the buildings and warning residents that danger still existed. "Stay away from the buildings," an unidentified Red Cross worker said. "I don't want to have to dig anyone else out of here."

—Paulo Prada, Matt Moffett and Matthew Cowley contributed to this article.

Write to Jeff Fick at and Carolina Pica at

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