Massive Earthquake Strikes Chile
Central Chile was hit by a colossal earthquake on Saturday the 27th of February 2010 killing around 147 persons, although authorities expect the numbers to rise.
The earthquake which measured 8.8 on the Richter scale caused quite a bit of damage, wrecking roads, bridges and a number of buildings in a few areas as well as the capital city.
Michelle Bachelet, the President, following the quake, declared the affected areas as a ‘state of catastrophe’ and requested for calmness in the wake of the disaster.
The huge earthquake also set off a tsunami, which in turn, caused a number of warnings to go off in countries across the Pacific starting from Japan up to New Zealand.
The quake, which struck Chile at 0634 GMT, hit several few areas. One of them being an area located 115km north-east of Concepcion, and the other, 325km located to the south-west of Santiago. This earthquake is the biggest Chile has experienced in the last fifty years.
Maule journalists reported the deaths of 85 people in the region with other casualties reported in O’Higgins, Santiago, Biobio, Valaparaiso and Araucania.
Chile’s state television estimated the total number of deaths at 150.
Footage shown on TV showed one of the bridges at Concepcion which had caved into the Biobio river. Rescue efforts are underway, though rescue teams seem to be finding it hard to reach the city of Concepcion due to the damage caused to the infrastructure, according to television reports.
Close to thirteen people were killed by the massive earthquake in Santiago, with infrastructure damage caused as well. Many buildings collapsed due to the aftershocks, as well as a car park -smashing a lot of cars. The aftershocks also caused a fire at a chemical plant located in the outskirts of Santiago where the authorities were forced to evacuate everyone in the surrounding areas.
Massive Earthquake Strikes Chile
Central Chile was hit by a colossal earthquake on Saturday the 27th of February 2010 killing around 147 persons, although authorities expect the numbers to rise.
The earthquake which measured 8.8 on the Richter scale caused quite a bit of damage, wrecking roads, bridges and a number of buildings in a few areas as well as the capital city.
Michelle Bachelet, the President, following the quake, declared the affected areas as a ‘state of catastrophe’ and requested for calmness in the wake of the disaster.
The huge earthquake also set off a tsunami, which in turn, caused a number of warnings to go off in countries across the Pacific starting from Japan up to New Zealand.
The quake, which struck Chile at 0634 GMT, hit several few areas. One of them being an area located 115km north-east of Concepcion, and the other, 325km located to the south-west of Santiago. This earthquake is the biggest Chile has experienced in the last fifty years.
Maule journalists reported the deaths of 85 people in the region with other casualties reported in O’Higgins, Santiago, Biobio, Valaparaiso and Araucania.
Chile’s state television estimated the total number of deaths at 150.
Footage shown on TV showed one of the bridges at Concepcion which had caved into the Biobio river. Rescue efforts are underway, though rescue teams seem to be finding it hard to reach the city of Concepcion due to the damage caused to the infrastructure, according to television reports.
Close to thirteen people were killed by the massive earthquake in Santiago, with infrastructure damage caused as well. Many buildings collapsed due to the aftershocks, as well as a car park -smashing a lot of cars. The aftershocks also caused a fire at a chemical plant located in the outskirts of Santiago where the authorities were forced to evacuate everyone in the surrounding areas.
Earthquake injures 11 in Taiwan; damage limited (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 shook Taiwan early on Thursday, injuring 11, stopping transport
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Earthquake injures 11 in Taiwan; damage limited (Reuters via Yahoo! News)