Earthquake

Case Study
Andrea Anderson,
Chile
1960
Cassie Aragon,
Rachel Clarke,
Natalee Simkins,
Meegan Sims, and
Lauren Van Wagenen

Introduction
Chile has had many
earthquakes through
time, but the earthquake
of 1960 is the largest
earthquake ever
recorded instrumentally.
It made the developed
world more aware of the
hazard of tsunamis
generated by distant
earthquakes. It also
helped to begin warning
centers and sound
construction.

Location
The 1960 Chilean
Earthquake began on the
coast of Chile just west of
Valdivia.
The earthquake started
here and spread throughout
the whole country and into
Argentina affecting many
cities surrounding this initial
tsunami.

When

May 22, 1960

19:11:14
UTC

How Big

Moment Magnitude:
9.5
Epicenter: 39.5 S,
74.5 W

How Bad
The maximum experienced intensity of the earthquake on the
Modified Mercalli scale was XI.
Based on the damaged, the following intensities
were assigned to Southern Chile towns:

Lebu ( X)

Rio Negro
( IX-X)

Valdivia ( X)

Temuco
( VIII)

Talcahuano
(IX)

Osorno ( VIIVIII)

Coronel (IX)

Puerto
Saavedra
( VII-VIII)

Lota (IX)

Llanquihue
( VII-VIII)

Measurements of the Disaster

The earthquake lasted about 12 minutes. The rupture zone is estimated to be about 1000
km long, from Lebu to Puerto Aisen. This rupture was one of the longest ever reported.

Many natural disasters were triggered by the aftershock of the earthquake. There were
landslides, tsunamis, seiches, the Rinihuazo flood, and the Cordon Caulle eruption.

Physical Features
The earthquake occurred
on a thrust fault that is the
subduction zone between
the Nazca Plate and the
South American Plate.

Processes
The main shock set off a series of wave-causing tsunamis which damaged
Hawaii and Japans property as well as caused many casualties. Reported
were landslides, volcanic eruptions and dislocations of the land surfaces.
Rock falls and landslides occurred in the Andes which formed an artificial
lake in Rio San Pedro. Also after the main shock, a volcano called Puyehue
erupted.
The original large tsunami caused 61 deaths, 282 injuries, and $20 million of
damage in Hawaii. The earthquake also damaged the coasts of California,
New Zealand, Australia and Kamchatka.
Rocks weighing as much as 20 metric were even lifted and placed on the
shore of Hawaii at 180 meters inland, and the only buildings that survived
were cement based even though those were gutted and damaged on the
inside. Other less stable buildings were destroyed without question.

Effects of the Natural Disaster

After the tsunami from the earthquake hit Hawaii, nearly 600
acres of the harbor were inundated, which is where all the deaths
and damages took place (which cost $23.5 million)
Only buildings reinforced with concrete or structural steel stood
standing, even though they were cleaned out and the frames
were all thats left. Frame buildings, automobiles, a 10-metric ton
tractor (as well as other heavy machinery) were floated away.

Previous and Subsequent Events

Foreshocks in the earthquake warned a few of the people in Chile
allowing them to evacuate buildings and the area.
Many smaller earthquakes have occurred in Chile since 1960. On
October 6th, Chile received a 4.8 size earthquake. Google put out a
warning for the aftershocks in Chile in case they ended up causing
damage to weakened structures. But aftershocks can occur from the
next few hours to the next few months of the original earthquake.

Factors that may have increased or

decreased intensity of natural
Earthquake-induced tsunamis affected
phenomena

southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines,

Hong Kong, eastern New Zealand, southeast
Australia and the Aleutian Islands

Landslides in the glacial valleys of the

southern Andes did not cause many fatalities
or economic loss because not a lot of people
lived in the area
Seiche on Panguipulli Lake 1 meter long and
killed two people

Other Interesting Scientific/Cultural

Facts
Cultural
After the earthquake, in the coastal village Collileufu, native
Lafkenches offered a human sacrifice. He demanded the
sacrifice of a young boy in order to calm the earth and the
ocean. 5-year-old Jos Luis Painecur, an "orphan was the
victim.

Scientific
The 1960 earthquake led to: the rise of the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center, Chiles good building standards, and very
little loss of life in the big earthquakes of the 21st century
because of the strict building standards.

Problem Solving After the

Earthquake
Onemi

After the earthquake, a committee

was formed to solve problems
caused by the earthquake.
It continued to operate, to develop
approaches for national
emergencies.
In 1974, it was authorized by law as
an independent governmental
office. (ONEMI)

Economic Impacts
Effects of the disaster left two million people homeless
$550 million dollars in damages in southern chile
$75 million Tsunami damage in Hawaii
$50 million in damages in Japan
$500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States
Although devastating, the destructions of homes and buildings led to growth in
construction activity and investments in public works

Casualties, Injured and Homeless

1,655 killed
3,000 injured
2,000,000 homeless
Hawaii: 61 casualties

Japan: 138 casualties

In the city of Valdivia, where

most of the damage happened,
nearly half of the buildings were
pronounced uninhabitable and
sustained significant damage,
causing
2 million people to
become homeless.

Most of the casualties occurred

just 15 minutes after the main
tsunami wave, but not all of the
casualties were found quickly after
the destruction. Days and weeks
after the disaster, bodies were
continuing to be found.

Reconstruction
Minister of Economy, Development and Reconstruction was
created by Chiles government to recover the damaged areas.

After only two years the province of Valdivia was considerably

improved, although it took several decades to restore the city to what it
originally was.

Lessons Learned
Lessons learned from the Chile 1960 Earthquake:
Most people will survive the Earthquake
In coastal areas, more people will die because of the tsunami that follows than of
the earthquake itself.
Tsunamis dont only affect surrounding areas

The earthquake of 1960 not only affected Chile, but the damage also travelled to
Hawaii and Japan

You never know when the danger has passed

The earthquake of 1960 proved that there can be multiple disasters at a time.
There were multiple waves after the quake, even though residents believed the
danger was over.

Interesting facts from a human

perspective
Chile 1960:
In May of that year, the Soviet Union and the United States were not on good terms.
So when the earth began shaking violently, Jos Argomedo (22 years-old) thought
the Cold War had turned hot. Lucky for Argomedo, he was on high ground and
survived the earthquake (Surviving a Tsunami).

Onagawa, Japan:
No one died in Onagawa thanks to the heroics of Kimura Kunio, a fireman who had
noticed a strange motion to the water (Surviving a Tsunami).

Hilo, Hawaii:
Carol Brown (16 years-old) was
going back into town after the
danger of high waves had
supposedly passed. But the
largest wave came at 1:00am
when Carol and her family were
in their house. They were lucky to
not have been seriously injured,
but there were others who had
also believed the danger had
passed and lost their lives and/or
loved ones (Surviving a Tsunami).
The photo at right shows Carol Brown (wearing the white
dress) and members of her family in Papaikou shortly after the
1960 tsunami (Surviving a Tsunami).

Eye Witness Account

There arent any direct accounts
from people who experienced the
traumatic effects of the
earthquake.
This video shows and talks about
the major highlights of the
earthquake and what the people
had to experience.

Conclusion
With a magnitude of 9.5, the 1960 Chilean earthquake was the largest earthquake
recorded in human history.
Due to the lack of knowledge or preparation for an earthquake as large as this, many
lives were lost, many people were injured, and many buildings were destroyed.
Surrounding countries were also affected by the earthquake by the creation of
tsunamis.
Since then, the world became more aware of the impacts an earthquake can have on
economy, construction, and peoples way of life.

References
Data Catalog. (2015, September 26). Retrieved October 7, 2015, from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/great-chileearthquake-of-may-22-1960-anniversary-edition
Historic Earthquakes. (2012, November 1). Retrieved October 7, 2015, from
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1960_05_22.php
Kanamori, H. & J.J. Cipar, 1974. Focal Process of the Great Chilean Earthquake of May 22, 1960. Physics of the
Earth and Planetary Interiors, 9 (1974) 128~136, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam
"ONEMI." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2015.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ONEMI>.
"Surviving a TsunamiLessons from Chile, Hawaii, and Japan." Surviving A TsunamiLessons from Chile, Hawaii,
and Japan. Ed. Brian F. Atwater, Marco Cisternas, Joanne Bourgeois, Walter C. Dudley, James W. Hendley, and
Peter H. Stauffer. U.S. Geological Survey, 1 Nov. 1999. Web. 06 Oct. 2015. <http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/>