See the global impact of the sixth-largest earthquake ever

CNN

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On 27 February 2010, a powerful magnitude-8.8 earthquake ripped through central Chile, making it the sixth-largest quake ever recorded. Centered near the coastal town of Maule, the rupture lasted more than three minutes and unleashed energy equivalent to hundreds of thousands of Hiroshima-level atomic bombs. Ground motion toppled buildings in Concepción, Santiago and dozens of smaller communities, while major highways, bridges and airports suffered crippling damage. Reliable early-morning video footage captured skyscrapers swaying like reeds and roads rippling as the seismic waves tore through the lithosphere.

The quake’s vertical displacement of the seafloor generated a trans-Pacific tsunami that radiated outward at jet-plane speeds. Within minutes, waves exceeding 10 m struck the Chilean coast, sweeping entire fishing villages inland. Over the next 22 hours the tsunami raced across the Pacific, triggering coastal evacuations in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Hawaii, Japan and California. Although sea walls and warning systems reduced fatalities abroad, tide gauges from French Polynesia to New Zealand recorded surges that validated just how far-reaching the event was.

From a geophysical perspective, the earthquake permanently altered the planet. NASA scientists calculated that the redistribution of mass shortened Earth’s day by roughly 1.26 microseconds and nudged the axis of rotation about 8 cm. GPS networks showed sections of Chile’s coastline shifting westward by up to 3 m, underscoring the colossal scale of plate convergence along the Nazca and South American boundary. The main shock triggered a cascade of more than 12,000 aftershocks over the following year, some exceeding magnitude 7, as the crust readjusted.

The human toll was devastating: more than 500 people lost their lives, over 800,000 were displaced and economic losses surpassed US$30 billion. Critical infrastructure, including ports that handle a large share of the world’s copper exports, ground to a halt, sending commodity prices briefly higher and illustrating the quake’s influence on global supply chains. Rapid deployment of international aid, combined with Chile’s stringent seismic building codes, prevented an even greater catastrophe and highlighted the importance of preparedness in tectonically active regions.

Scientists mined an unprecedented trove of data from satellites, ocean buoys and broadband seismometers to refine models of subduction dynamics. Insights gleaned from the Maule event now inform tsunami-forecast software, structural engineering guidelines and early-warning algorithms worldwide. Moreover, the quake’s global footprint served as a wake-up call for coastal communities across the Pacific Rim, spurring investments in community drills, shoreline sensors and resilient urban planning.

A decade later, the legacy of the 2010 Chile megathrust earthquake endures in stronger buildings, faster alerts and a deeper understanding of how Earth’s largest tectonic events can ripple across oceans, economies and even the planet’s rotation. It stands as a powerful reminder that the ground beneath us is in constant motion, and that the lessons learned from one colossal rupture can help safeguard millions when the next one strikes.

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