The tsunami triggered by the 27.02.2010 earthquake caused widespread damage on the Chilean coast. In photo cars dragged by the tsunami in Talcahuano, near Conception, Chile.
Merchant ships dragged onshore by tsunami in Talcahuano harbor, Chile
On 27 February 2010 at 03:34 local time (07:34 Italian time) a magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, off the Chilean coast, about 100 km north, northeast of Concepción, between the provinces of Maule and Bio Bìo. The earthquake was felt as far as Sao Paulo in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina, thousands of kilometers away.
The earthquake, occurred along the Nazca Plate subduction zone below the South American Plate, generated a large tsunami that caused extensive damage along the Chilean coast and in some Pacific Ocean islands. Numerical simulation below, shows tsunami propagation from the origin to the following 24 hours (1,440 min).
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami effects, compared to the event's magnitude, were however contained. A total of about 300 victims were counted, 150 of which were caused by the tsunami.
The tsunami caused extensive damage in Concepción, Constitucion, Dichato and Pichilemu. Tidal waves reached the entire Pacific Ocean, reaching, for example, the San Diego coasts (USA), where some ships broke their banks and were dragged onto the pier.
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