8.8 Magnitude Earthquake in Chile; Tsunamis Predicted for Pacific Region

By Nancy Atkinson - February 27, 2010 at 9:13 AM UTC | Planetary Science
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[/caption] A devastating magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shattering buildings and bridges, killing over 100 people and setting off a tsunami that threatens every nation around the Pacific Ocean -- roughly a quarter of the globe. Experts warned that a tsunami could strike anywhere in the Pacific, and Hawaii could face its biggest tsunami since 1964. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center predicts a possible 2.5 meter (8.2-foot) wave to strike Hilo, Hawaii, at 11:05 a.m. local time (4:05 p.m. ET).

The National Weather Service has issued a tsunami warning for the entire West Coast of the US, and is advising everyone in coastal counties to stay away from beaches and shorelines this afternoon when a tsunami producing strong currents and a series of potentially dangerous waves is expected to hit the coast at around 1:20 p.m PST.

Alaska is also threatened, and tsunami waves could possibly hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of the earth quake. See the map above of the tsunami predicted paths. [caption id="attachment_58180" align="aligncenter" width="268" caption="Map of Chile. Credit: USGS"]

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The quake struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST, 0634 GMT) 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of Santiago.

Chilean TV showed devastating images of the most powerful quake to hit the country in a half-century: In the second city of Concepcion trucks plunged into the fractured earth, homes fell, bridges collapsed and buildings were engulfed in flames. Injured people lay in the streets or on stretchers.

Many roads were destroyed and electricity and water were cut to many areas.

Several astronomical observatories are located in Chile, and as of this writing, the word on Twitter is that Gemini South's servers have come back online, but Cerro Tololo (CTIO) and SLOOH servers are down. No word on telescopes yet at Paranal, which is north of Santiago, Chile. From the ALMA crew at NRAO, "Reports from our people in Santiago are trickling in; so far everyone is ok, but quite rattled."

Links of interest:

NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

Live streaming news from Hawaii

Estimated arrival times for tsunamis.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com