A
powerful magnitude-8.2 earthquake
struck off northern Chile, setting off a small tsunami that forced evacuations
along the country's entire Pacific coast.
Five people were crushed to death or suffered
fatal heart attacks, the interior minister said, but Chile apparently escaped
major damage or serious casualties in the quake that struck last night.
Earthquake Facts
Earthquakes
involve the powerful movement of rocks in the Earth’s crust. The rapid release
of energy creates seismic waves that travel through the earth.
Scientists
use the different speeds of seismic waves to locate the epicentre (the point on
the surface directly above where the earthquake originated) of earthquakes.
Seismometers
are used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes. You are unlikely to feel a
magnitude 3 earthquake but a magnitude 6 earthquake could potentially cause large
damage.
The
damage caused by earthquakes also depends on their depth and fault type.
The
earthquake that hit the Tohoku region of Japan
on March 11, 2011, had a magnitude of 9.0 and killed over 15000 people.
The
most powerful earthquake ever recorded on Earth was in Valdivia, Chile.
Occurring in 1960, it had a magnitude of 9.5.
It
is important in earthquake prone countries such as Japan to build houses and
buildings that react well to earthquakes. Good engineering practises can help
stop buildings collapsing under the stress of large earthquakes.