8.8 earthquake shakes Chile
Chelsea Bower, Fact Checker
Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: National
On Saturday, Feb. 27, a massive earthquake hit the coast of Chile at 3:34 a.m. and caused a tsunami that came in three waves and surged over 200 meters high, according to an article on nydailynews.com.
As of Tuesday, 795 people were reported dead and over 1.5 million homes damaged or destroyed after the 8.8-magnitude quake shook the earth. This number is likely to grow as search-and-rescue teams discover more bodies in collapsed buildings and rubble, according to an article on cnn.com.
Japan and Hawaii were both put on high alert in fear of the tsunami, but the surges that reached the islands were smaller than expected, according to an article on nydailynews.com. On the Chilean island of Juan Fernandez the tsunami washed away villages and destroyed houses, yet no tsunami warning was issued to this or any other coastal area. On Monday, the Chilean defense minister, Francisco Vidal said the navy made the mistake, according to an article on theepochtimes.com.
"The truth even if it hurts [is that] a division of the navy made a mistake," Vidal said at a press conference on Sunday.
The country's north-south highway collapsed in multiple places, a 15-story sky-rise collapsed near the city of Concepcion and the airport in Santiago, the capital city, suffered great damage to its terminal. Santiago residents lost power, telephone service and water and a chemical fire spread to several buildings. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet postponed the start of the new school year, previously scheduled for Monday, until March 8.
"The forces of nature have hurt our country greatly. We are now having to face adversity and stand again," Bachelet said in a televised statement Saturday night, according to cnn.com.
Scientists at NASA say the earthquake caused the earth's axis to shift, making days a negligible 1.26 microseconds shorter. They say that a large quake redistributes massive amounts of rock and changes the mass distribution of the planet, which influences the earth's speed while rotating. After the tsunami that devastated Indonesia in 2004, the length of days shortened by 6.8 microseconds, according to the article.
As of Tuesday, 795 people were reported dead and over 1.5 million homes damaged or destroyed after the 8.8-magnitude quake shook the earth. This number is likely to grow as search-and-rescue teams discover more bodies in collapsed buildings and rubble, according to an article on cnn.com.
Japan and Hawaii were both put on high alert in fear of the tsunami, but the surges that reached the islands were smaller than expected, according to an article on nydailynews.com. On the Chilean island of Juan Fernandez the tsunami washed away villages and destroyed houses, yet no tsunami warning was issued to this or any other coastal area. On Monday, the Chilean defense minister, Francisco Vidal said the navy made the mistake, according to an article on theepochtimes.com.
"The truth even if it hurts [is that] a division of the navy made a mistake," Vidal said at a press conference on Sunday.
The country's north-south highway collapsed in multiple places, a 15-story sky-rise collapsed near the city of Concepcion and the airport in Santiago, the capital city, suffered great damage to its terminal. Santiago residents lost power, telephone service and water and a chemical fire spread to several buildings. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet postponed the start of the new school year, previously scheduled for Monday, until March 8.
"The forces of nature have hurt our country greatly. We are now having to face adversity and stand again," Bachelet said in a televised statement Saturday night, according to cnn.com.
Scientists at NASA say the earthquake caused the earth's axis to shift, making days a negligible 1.26 microseconds shorter. They say that a large quake redistributes massive amounts of rock and changes the mass distribution of the planet, which influences the earth's speed while rotating. After the tsunami that devastated Indonesia in 2004, the length of days shortened by 6.8 microseconds, according to the article.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
andre
posted 3/03/10 @ 7:23 PM EST
I am very sorry what happen to both chile and hati if i lived close by chile i would have voulteer to clean up.
Ja'brilia
posted 3/04/10 @ 1:32 PM EST
this dumb where do you get your facts at dumb ville?
shaun
posted 3/04/10 @ 1:43 PM EST
Jbrilla or whatever the feak your name is should shut up
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