The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami or the Great Chilean earthquake on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon, and lasted for approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunamis affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands.
The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake occurred at about 8:20 a.m. on January 9 in central and Southern California. One of the largest recorded earthquakes in the United States, with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9, it ruptured the southern part of the San Andreas Fault for a length of about 225 miles, between Parkfield and Wrightwood.
Iglesia de San Agustín — Our Lady of Grace, commonly known as Church of St Augustine or Templo de San Agustín, is owned by the Order of Saint Augustine. It is a Catholic church, located at the southeast corner of Agustinas and Estado streets, in downtown Santiago, Chile.
The 2003 Dominican Republic earthquake occurred on September 22 at with a moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme).
The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34 local time, having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It was felt strongly in six Chilean regions that together make up about 80 percent of the country's population. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the cities experiencing the strongest shaking—VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale (MM)—were Concepción, Arauco, and Coronel. According to Chile's Seismological Service, Concepción experienced the strongest shaking at MM IX (Violent). The earthquake was felt in the capital Santiago at MM VII or MM VIII. Tremors were felt in many Argentine cities, including Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, and La Rioja. Tremors were felt as far north as the city of Ica in southern Peru.
The 1997 Punitaqui earthquake occurred at 01:03 UTC on October 15. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.1 . This earthquake was one of the most destructive in the epicentral area compared to other events of subduction of the same size. The extensive damage to structures was the result of an amplification effect on the ground and the poor quality of building materials, this reflects the potential for damage incurred in an intraplate earthquake with vertical fault and how it can be much greater than what which can cause one of interplate of similar magnitude, and caused severe damage in Chilean cities of La Serena, Vicuña, Ovalle, Illapel and Punitaqui.
The 1999 Oaxaca earthquake occurred on September 30 at 11:31 local time in Oaxaca, Mexico, 60 km NNW of Puerto Ángel. The epicenter was located near San Agustin Loxicha. It had a magnitude of 7.4.
The 1985 Rapel Lake earthquake occurred on 8 April at with a moment magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum perceived intensity of VI (Strong). The shock was centered 75 kilometres (47 mi) southwest of Santiago, Chile, with a focal depth of 37.8 km (23 mi).
The 1906 Valparaíso earthquake hit Valparaíso, Chile, on August 16 at 19:55 local time. Its epicenter was offshore from the Valparaíso Region, and its intensity was estimated at magnitude 8.2 . This earthquake occurred thirty minutes after the 1906 Aleutian Islands earthquake.
The San Ramón is a Chilean geological fault, located in eastern Santiago Metropolitan Region, passing through the eastern part of Santiago marking the boundary between the Chilean Central Valley and the Andes. As an active thrust fault it constitutes a seismic hazard zone for the densely populated Santiago. A large number of homes and educational centers have been built on or near the fault, along with a gas plant in Peñalolén. The Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission has a reactor in La Reina, very close to the fault, which has raised concerns among the population. It runs 5 kilometers underground and extends for 25 kilometers in a north–south direction, lying between the Mapocho River and Maipo River. It is known to pass underneath the communes of Vitacura, Las Condes, La Reina, Peñalolén, La Florida and Puente Alto, and suspected to continue into Lo Barnechea and Pirque at its extremes. Due to its shallowness, it can cause very destructive superficial earthquakes with a magnitude around 7 on the Richter scale, with a general recurrence period of over 300 years.
The 2010 Pichilemu earthquakes, also known as the Libertador O'Higgins earthquakes, were a pair of intraplate earthquakes measuring 6.9 and 7.0 that struck Chile's O'Higgins Region on 11 March 2010 about 16 minutes apart. The earthquakes were centred 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northwest of the city of Pichilemu.
The 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake, also known simply as the Capistrano earthquake or the Wrightwood earthquake, occurred on December 8 at in Alta California. At the time, this was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire. Damage occurred at several of the missions in the region of Pueblo de Los Ángeles, including Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and Mission San Juan Capistrano, where 40 parishioners were killed during the collapse of a church at an early morning service. Tree ring and paleoseismic evidence show that there is a strong likelihood that the earthquake originated along the Mojave segment of the San Andreas Fault near Wrightwood, but other faults have been suggested as the cause.
The 1957 San Francisco earthquake occurred on March 22 at 11:44:22 local time with a moment magnitude of 5.7 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of VII. It was located just off the San Francisco Peninsula near the San Andreas Fault and was felt in a limited portion of Northern and Central California. There was a non-destructive foreshock and aftershock sequence that lasted for several months. With financial losses of around US$1 million, damage was considered minimal, with one death and forty injuries.
The Valparaíso Region of central Chile was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 at 22:03 8 July 1971 local time. It had a maximum felt intensity of IX (violent) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale and caused the deaths of 83 people and injured a further 447.
The 1965 Valparaíso earthquake struck near La Ligua in Valparaíso Region, Chile, about 140 km (87 mi) from the capital Santiago on Sunday, March 28 at 12:33 local time. The moment magnitude (Mw ) 7.4–7.6 earthquake killed 400–500 people and inflicted US$1 billion in damage. Many deaths were from El Cobre, a mining location that was wiped out after a series of dam failures caused by the earthquake spilled mineral waste onto the area, burying hundreds of residents. The shock was felt throughout the country and along the Atlantic coast of Argentina.
The 1856 Heraklion earthquake, also known as the Crete earthquake or Rhodes earthquake, occurred on the morning of October 12 at 02:45 am local time. This extremely catastrophic earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.7 to 8.3 at a depth of approximately 61 to 100 km. The earthquake was felt over a very wide area extending from Sicily, Italy to the Levant and North Africa. On the Greek island of Crete, the effects of the earthquake were cataclysmic, over 500 bodies were recovered in the city of Heraklion. Shockwaves from the earthquake were felt intensely, covering all of the Ottoman Empire; present-day Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East where damage and human losses were reported. In Malta, the earthquake collapsed the Għajn Ħadid Tower—a coastal watchtower built around the year 1638. In Cairo, Egypt, the earthquake destroyed buildings, created seiches in canals, and killed several people. Off the Egyptian and Italian coasts, sailors reported feeling a seaquake.
The 1790 Oran earthquake occurred on October 10, striking near the coastal city of Oran in Algeria. The earthquake had an evaluated maximum seismic intensity of VIII–X on the European macroseismic scale (EMS-98). An estimated 3,000 people died during the earthquake and accompanying tsunami. The magnitude of this earthquake has been disputed among members of the paleoseismology field, with estimates ranging from 7.5 to even as small as 5.5.
The 1657 Concepción earthquake occurred on March 15 at 20:00 local time off the coast of Concepción, Biobío Region in the Spanish Empire. The earthquake caused severe damage along the coast, and generated a large tsunami in the Bay of Concepción. At least 40 people were killed, the majority due to drowning from the tsunami. The town of Concepción was the hardest hit, with the earthquake and tsunami totally destroying it.
The 2012 Constitución earthquake was recorded on March 25, 2012, at 7:37 pm local time. It had a moment magnitude of 7.1 and its epicenter was located 23 km (14 mi) northeast of the city of Constitución, in the Maule Region, Chile. According to experts, it was a strong and late aftershock of the Great Chile earthquake of February 27, 2010.
The 1910 Costa Rica earthquakes were a series of destructive seismic events that affected Cartago, Costa Rica from 13 April to 4 May. The sequence began with a Ms 5.8 earthquake. The largest and most destructive in the sequence occurred on 4 May, measuring Ms 6.4. A total of 2,450 people were killed and the city of Cartago was severely affected.
