2010 Bio-Bio Chile Earthquake

 2010 Bio-Bio, Chile Earthquake:

Image 1: Map depicting magnitude of shakes from February 27th earthquake and proceeding aftershocks at Chile coast (“Maule, 2010 Chile”).

Event Summary:

    At 3:34am on February 27th, 2010, in coastal Chile (-36.7728, -73.0631), an 8.8 magnitude earthquake claimed an estimated minimum of 528 lives. Another estimated 1.5 million were displaced. Following the earthquake were 150 aftershocks that took place until March 25th. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the center of the Conception-Constitucion area, where the Peru-Chile Trench is located (a subduction zone plate boundary) (“Maule, 2010 Chile”). Conception (-36.820, -73.044) was hit the hardest by this event, with aftershocks of 6.0 or greater occurring for weeks past the initial shake (“Factsheet Chile Earthquake”). Overall, $30 billion worth of damages were incurred. Most of this monetary damage, however, was not a direct result of the earthquake shaking and was instead the result of a tsunami (with heights of 6-8m) which the earthquake induced (“Maule, 2010 Chile”). Major damages included collapsed roads and bridges, collapsed buildings, water contamination, and flooding. Some of those that heavily experienced aftereffects of the earthquake and proceeding tsunami include those whose livelihoods were dependent on the marine resources of Chile. More specifically, the fisherman and sea-grass harvesters. The earthquake caused subsidence to occur, and such shifted sands and rock into the mouths of many rivers. In Tirua, many seagrass beds disappeared as the result of the shift. This loss of resources caused those who relied on them to begin exploiting other resources, specifically timber, in attempt to make up for their monetary losses (“Chile Earthquake 2010”).

    In Talca, only two of thirteen of the hospital’s wings were in operation, and it was feared that keeping patients in the hospital was too dangerous. Staff attempted to move patients elsewhere for treatment but were unable to do so due to road blockages. Other facilities that were vulnerable to damages included a women’s jail in Iquique where 300+ inmates escaped, and many airports, including the Santiago airport, which were out of operation due to collapsing (Barrionuevo, 2010).

Image 2: Fallen overpass and upturned cars in Santiago caused by Bio-Bio Chile earthquake in 2010

(National Geographic, 2021)

Importance of Event:

    Many of the residents who experienced this earthquake were present in 1960 to experience the catastrophe of Valdivia. Because of this, this area was more educated and better equipped to react to this event in 2010. The occurrence of a second major earthquake in a short geologic time span has prompted Chilean residents to be even more conscious of risks to their homes and livelihoods. This has sparked for strict building policies to be put into place to decrease the number of collapses as well as casualties. Although monetary losses were high (est. $30 billion), they would have been much higher, as would casualties, if buildings had not been retrofitted post-1960 (Fukuji, 2022). Over three times as many lives were lost in the 1960 catastrophe than were lost in 2010- this goes to show the benefits of mitigation. Modern-day Chile has adapted to withstand a third major earthquake while hopefully experiencing the least amount of damages and casualties yet (“Natural Risks In Chile”).

Image 3: Chile soldiers clean up the debris of the Bio-Bio earthquake in Santiago, Chile (“Lessons From 2010,” 2015).

Video- "Deadly Quake Strikes Chile"

Video description: CBS covers the event of the Bio-Bio Chile Earthquake. Shown are damages and interviews from Chileans who survived the catastrophe (CBS, 2010).

Sources:

Barrionuevo, Alexei, and Liz Robbins. “1.5 Million Displaced after Chile Quake.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Feb. 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/world/americas/28chile.html. 

CBS, director. Deadly Quake Strikes Chile. YouTube, YouTube, 27 Feb. 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNkgyIRBBLQ. Accessed 12 Sept. 2022. 

“Chile Earthquake Pictures: The Aftermath.” Culture, National Geographic, 3 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/100227-chile-earthquake-2010-hawaii-tsunami-warning-pictures. 

“Chile Earthquake 2010: Key Environmental Issues.” WWF Environmental Disaster Management, WWF, https://envirodm.org/chile-earthquake-2010-key-environmental-issues/#:~:text=Geophysical%20changes%20included%20the%20raising,of%20certain%20areas%20to%20fisherman.  

 “Factsheet Chile Earthquake.” European Commission, European Union, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/MEMO_10_71.

“Natural Risks in Chile.” Expat.cl, Expat.cl, 11 Aug. 2022, https://www.expat.cl/guide-chile/living-chile/natural-risks/#:~:text=The%20country%20is%20well%20prepared,number%20of%20collapses%20and%20casualties. 

Fukuji, Tammy. “27 February 2010, MW 8.8, Off Central Chile.” 27 February 2010, MW 8.8, off Central Chile - International Tsunami Information Center, International Tsunami Information Center, http://itic.ioc-unesco.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1667&catid=1444&Itemid=1444.  

“Maule, 2010 Chile Earthquake and Tsunami.” The Most Destructive Tsunamis | Chile, 2010, SMS Tsunami Warning, https://www.sms-tsunami-warning.com/pages/tsunami-chile-2010#.Yx9Kf3bMJPZ.  

 “Lessons from 2010 Chile Earthquake Saved Lives This Week, Say Experts.” The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate, 18 Sept. 2015, https://ticotimes.net/2015/09/18/lessons-from-2010-chile-earthquake-saved-lives-this-week-say-experts.