Tsunami Warnings Issued After 8.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Chile

A tsunami warning has been issued for Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Courtesy: earthquake.usgs.gov

(CONCEPCION, Chile) - The U.S. Geologic Survey reports that an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter Scale struck Chile Saturday at 3:34 a.m. local time.

The epicenter of this massive quake is in the offshore Maule region of Chile, approximately 60 miles north/northwest of Chillan, Chile.

• 100 km (60 miles) NNW of Chillan, Chile
• 100 km (65 miles) WSW of Talca, Chile
• 115 km (75 miles) NNE of Concepcion, Chile
• 320 km (200 miles) SW of SANTIAGO, Chile

The depth of the ocean at the epicenter is reported to be 24.9 miles.

The US government said a Tsunami Warning and Watch are now in effect for:

• Chile
• Peru

A Tsunami Watch is in effect for:

• Ecuador

We will keep updating this story as we learn more. It is interesting to note that the the seismic activity occurred where the world's "Greatest Earthquake" happened in 1960. Extreme Science states on their Website, that in the case of the Chile earthquake, "the amount of energy released during the quake, not the number of human deaths and damage to structures, earned it the title of greatest."

The site explains how damage from the quake was not limited to the coastline of Chile. Enormous waves, or tsunamis, moved thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean, reaching the shores of Hawaii, the Philippines, and even Japan, devastating everything in their path.

"This earthquake was the largest ever instrumentally recorded. It measured a 9.5 on the Moment Magnitude (Mw) scale, but registered only an 8.5 on the Ms scale."

That is remarkably close to the magnitude rating concerning the current earthquake.