Now:
Residents of central Chile were jolted out of bed at 3:34 am on February 27, 2010 by a severe earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale. Three hours later, a 6.2 aftershock struck Concepcion and less than two hours after that, another aftershock of 5.5 hit approximately 50 miles from Santiago.

Tsunami waves arrived along the coast of Chile a few hours later but there were no reports of extensive damage and a tsunami warning was issued to locations across the Pacific, such as Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Central America and the west coast of the U.S. and Canada.

And Then:
On May 22, 1960, at 19:11 GMT, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.5 on the Mw scale but registering only an 8.5 on the Ms Scale, occurred off the coast of South Central Chile. It was the strongest earthquake ever recorded by instruments in the world.

The earth itself was forever changed by the enormous amount of energy that was released from below the earth’s surface. Huge landslides, massive flows of earthen debris and rock, were sent tumbling down mountain slopes. Some landslides were so enormous they changed the course of major rivers.

A Pacific-wide tsunami was triggered by the earthquake and travelled thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean, reaching the shores of Hawaii, the Philippines and Japan devastating everything in their path. The tsunamis were created by the shifting of the sea floor that generated the huge tremor, sending enormous ripples in every direction, traveling at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.

The damage caused by the Tsunami far exceeded the destruction resulting from the earthquake itself. Within 10-15 minutes after the earthquake, the tsunami waves struck the coast of Chile. Waves of approximately 25 meters smashed the coastline and traveled inland for almost half a mile. 15 hours later, the tsunami hit the Hawaiian Islands. There was not much damage to most areas except for the city of Hilo, where 10 meter waves wiped out the waterfront and 61 people were killed. Tsunami waves of similar size hit Japan and the Philippines.

Along the western coast of the United States, notable tsunami waves and run-up began about 15.5 hours after the Chilean quake. The largest wave height in California was measured on the Crescent City tidal gauge at 1.7 m. Waves of 1.5 m were observed at Stenson Beach. The amplitude was more than 1.4 m at Santa Monica. The amplitude at Port Hueneme was 1.3 m and 1.2 m at Pacifica. The tsunami was recorded widely along the Pacific coast with amplitudes less than 1 m. Two vessels valued at $30,000 were lost at Crescent City.

Major damage was reported in the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. An estimated 300 small craft were set adrift and about 30 sunk including a 24 m yacht which smashed into bridge piers partially disabling the bridge. The Yacht Center lost 235 boat landing slips and 110 more were destroyed at the Colonial Yacht Anchorage and Cerritos Yacht Anchorage for a loss of $300,000.

A skin diver, Raymond Stuart, was missing and presumed drowned at Cabrillo Beach, but no death certificate was found. In the harbor currents estimated to be 22 km/hr snapped and washed out pilings. Many thousands of liters of gasoline and oil spilled from the overturn of the boats prompting fears of a fire. Several buoys and navigational aids were swept away at Terminal Island. The Coast Guard landing including the tide gauge was washed 5.6 km to sea but was rescued. A mess boy fell 6 m from the bridge of the first ship to attempt to leave the harbor the next day. The ship returned to harbor so his injuries could be treated at the hospital. The accident was blamed on rough seas.

At San Diego, ferry service was interruped after one passenger-laden ferry smashed into the dock at Coronado knocking out eight pilings. A second ferry was forced 1.5 km off couse and into a flotilla of anchored destroyers. More than 80 m of dock were destroyed. A 100 ton dredge rammed the concrete pilings supporting the Mission Bay bridge tearing out a 21 m section. A 45 m bait barge smashed eight slips at the Seaforth Landing before breaking in half and sinking. The currents swept 12 and 30 m floats from the San Diego Harbor Masters Pier on Shelter Island and swept away two sections of dockage at the Southwest Yacht Club at Point Loma.

At Santa Monica the water fell so low that the bottom of the breakwater was nearly exposed. Eight small craft snapped mooring lines but were taken in tow. One surge swept more than 91 m up the beach flooding a parking lot just off the Pacific coast Highway.

At Santa Barbara a drifting oil exploration barge repeatedly rammed the new dredge causing at least $10,000 in damage. An additional $10,000 was done elsewhere including damage to 40 small craft set adrift there.

In addition to the tsunami there were other geologic phenomena associated with this earthquake. There were reports of extensive subsidence, alteration of the shoreline and of local flooding. Regional tectonic subsidence ranged from five to seven feet. There were reports of large landslides. There was also an eruption of the Puyehue volcano forty-seven hours after the main quake.

The number of fatalities associated with both the tsunami and the earthquake was never established accurately for the region. Estimates of fatalities ranged between 490 to 5,700 with no distinction as to how many of the deaths were caused by the earthquake and how many were caused by the tsunami waves. However, it is believed that most of the deaths were caused by the tsunami, while most of the property damage may have been caused by the earthquake. Reportedly there were 3,000 people injured, and 717 missing in Chile. Total damage losses, including to agriculture and to industry, were estimated to be over a half billion dollars (1960 dollars).