8.8 Quake - USGS Reporting

.
While certain news agencies were reporting the quake as being downgraded earlier (see earlier posts), the USGS still reporting it as an 8.8 (as are the Associated Press and Reuters)

(Thank God it was a deep one.)

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
8.8
Date-Time
Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 06:34:14 UTC
Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 03:34:14 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
35.846°S, 72.719°W
Depth
35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program
Region
OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010tfan.php


US NOAA Buoy Data Center- Pacific

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/dart.shtml



Huge earthquake batters Chile, 78 dead

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 78 people, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami.

Buildings caught fire and residents huddled in streets strewn with glass and masonry, many terrified by powerful aftershocks and desperately trying to call friends and family.

President Michelle Bachelet said there were 78 confirmed deaths and that more were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage close to the epicenter.

Chile is the world's No. 1 copper producer, and the quake halted operations at two major mines near the capital.

"Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged homes and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

See:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61Q0S920100227


Huge quake hits Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific

SANTIAGO, Chile – A devastating magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, shattering buildings and bridges, killing at least 78 people and setting off a tsunami that threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.

Chilean TV showed devastating images of the most powerful quake to hit the country in a half-century: In the second city of Concepcion trucks plunged into the fractured earth, homes fell, bridges collapsed and buildings were engulfed in flames. Injured people lay in the streets or on stretchers.

Many roads were destroyed and electricity and water were cut to many areas.

There was still no word of death or damage from many outlying areas that were cut off by the quake that struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST, 0634 GMT) 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of Santiago.

Experts warned that a tsunami could strike anywhere in the Pacific, and Hawaii could face its largest waves since 1964 starting at 11:19 a.m. (4:19 p.m. EST, 2119 GMT), according to Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Tsunami waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of the earthquake. The U.S. West Coast and Alaska, too, were threatened.

A huge wave swept into a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles (660 kilometers) off the Chilean coast, President Michele Bachelet said, but there were no immediate reports of major damage there.

See:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/lt_chile_earthquake