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8.8 Magnitude Earthquake In Chile

NYTimes:

A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital of Santiago for 90 seconds and sending tsunami warnings along much of the Pacific basin. [. . .] The Associated Press quoted the Chile President Michele Bachelet as saying that a huge wave had swept into a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles off the Chilean coast, but there were no immediate reports of major damage there.

[MORE . . .]

Chile’s TVN cable news channel was reporting 82 deaths, with the toll expected to rise and Mrs. Bachelet had declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile. The quake downed buildings and houses in Santiago and knocked out a major bridge connecting the northern and southern sections of the country. It struck at 3:34 a.m. local time and was centered about 200 miles southwest of Santiago, at a depth of 22 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The epicenter was some 70 miles from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live.

The quake in Chile was more powerful than the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that caused widespread damage in Haiti on Jan 12, killing at least 230,000, earthquake experts reported on CNN International. The U.S. Geological Survey and eyewitnesses reported more than a dozen aftershocks, including two measuring magnitude 6.2 and 6.9.

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    As we've learned to say from Star Trek (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by Kent Allard on Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 11:20:53 AM EST
    "Brace for impact!"

    Seriously, I hope Hawaii doesn't take a bad hit from this tsunami.  Good luck to y'all over there.

    This was nicely done (none / 0) (#1)
    by Salo on Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 09:56:10 AM EST
    yet I tend to think the US media are salivating over these Earthquakes.   This was powerful, but deep and away enough from a Metro area to be a lesser tale.

    It reminds us that we are but fleas on a dog though.

    Can we start a fund (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by jondee on Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 10:12:28 AM EST
    to sponsor someone to go and preemptively beat the living sh*t out of Pat Robertson (figuratively speaking of course) before he opens his sanctimonious mouth again?

    Parent
    What (none / 0) (#4)
    by cal1942 on Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 10:25:16 AM EST
    would Robertson say if his home was destroyed in a natual catastrophe?

    Don't suppose he'd say it was because he'd sinned, maybe he'd simply declare himself to be the chosen one.

    Parent

    As long as the tsunami doesn't appear that is... (none / 0) (#2)
    by Salo on Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 09:56:56 AM EST
    I put up a live broadcast (none / 0) (#8)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 11:32:21 AM EST
    of a local news station in Hawaii. I recommend it over CNN and national news here.

    Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant (none / 0) (#10)
    by pluege on Sat Feb 27, 2010 at 11:49:16 AM EST
    Peekskill, NY sits atop the Ramapo fault, which had significant movement 200 years ago. 30 million people are down wind of the nuclear facility that should have been shuttered long ago.