Earthquake, Chile

On the morning of 27th February 2010, a massive earthquake of 8.8 on the Richter scale hit the coast of Chile for 90 seconds at 6.34am , causing buildings to collapse and triggering a tsunami.

Coastal towns suffered fatal double blows, as tsunamis came crashing onto their shores. A tsunami warning was extended across 53 countries, including most of Central and South America and even Australia and Antartica. The tsunami has caused extensive damage to a number of islands, and travelled across the ocean at a shocking speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour. However, the warning at one of the affected islands, Hawaii, was lifted. 1m high waves hit the shores, but no damage were reported. Although islands like Hawaii were not badly affected, the giant waves are known to affect islands like Juan Fernandez islands, causing serious damage.

The quake hit near the town of Maule, 325km southwest of Santiago, at a depth of 25km underground. The epicentre was just 115km from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city.

The giant quake caused widespread damage, destroying buildings, bridges and roads in many areas, causing huge cracks in roads and bridges. Water, phone lines and electricity were cut, thus worsening the already bad conditions. This renders rescue efforts hard to be carried out, not to mention the dangerous conditions for rescuers to carry out their missions.

8 aftershocks were recorded, largest of which has a magnitude of 6.9. Chile is highly vulnerable to earthquakes due to its location. It is situated on the infamous Pacific “Ring of Fire”, on the edge of the Pacific and South American plates. It has suffered many earthquakes, the biggest of which is the 1960 earthquake, with magnitude 9.5, which struck the city of Valdivia, killing 1655 people.

The initial official death toll of the 2010 Chile earthquake was put at 800 was lowered to 528, reason given was that the initial death toll included those who were displaced. And also, some of the people who were thought to be killed by the earthquake turned out to be alive.

More than half a million homes were destroyed, resulting in about 2 million people homeless, forcing them to live on the streets. With the emergency situation, major supermarkets were ordered to give away essential food and water supplies to the affected Chileans.

More than half a million homes were destroyed, resulting in about 2 million people homeless, forcing them to live on the streets. The emergency situation required major supermarkets to give away essential supplies such as food and water.

Relief efforts were also provided by many countries and organisations in the form of emergency supplies. The UN World Food Program (WFP) delivered food aids, one of which is in the form of high-energy biscuits enough to feed 35,000 children for 5 days. World Vision has also organized operations to aid the relief efforts by supplying necessary high-priority supplies for the survivors in the form of food, water, water tanks, water purification tablets, cooking items, hygiene kits, disposable nappies, candles, batteries, flashlights, blankets, sleeping bags and lanterns, especially in the hard-hit areas of Concepcion and Santiago.
Financial assistance is also heavily required for rebuilding efforts. Japan gave 3 million US dollars in emergency grant aid to Chile, following a formal request from Chilean President Michelle Bachelet for international assistance. These forms of financial aid is crucial in the rebuilding of the country after the vicious earthquake had hit Chile.

However, other then aid in emergency supplies, psychosocial and psychological aid is necessary for the survivors, especially the children. The earthquake and aftershocks brought about a negative emotional impact on the children, and requires serious and immediate attention and concern.

With the different relief efforts and aids, Chile has hope of a bright future ahead, however this rebuilding will need time of about a few years.

By Nur Farizah Bte ROslan (10S01)