Chile just had an 8.8 quake
U.S. Geological Survey figures, Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude quake in Chile could be one of the most powerful in history.
This quake could be tied as the fifth-strongest earthquake recorded since 1900, when records were first kept.
The most powerful earthquake recorded also occurred in Chile, in 1960. It had a magnitude of 9.5. That earthquake killed approximately 1,655 people, left about two million homeless, and caused $550 million in damage.
The Sumatra quake in recent years was a 9.1 killed aprox. 228,000 people primarily from tsunami aftermath.
The 1960 Chile earthquake generated a tsunami that caused 61 deaths and $75 million of damage in Hawaii, 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan, and another 32 dead and missing in the Philippines.
The National Earthquake information Center state that seismologists began recording earthquake magnitude in 1925.
The most powerful earthquakes have not necessarily been the deadliest. The deadliest earthquake was recorded in 1556 in central China. More than 830,000 people were reported killed in that quake, which had an estimated magnitude of 8