Chile: Earthquake & Tsunami February 27, 2010 One of the Strongest Quakes Ever in that Area Extremely Strong Earthquake The Event • TALCA, Chile — One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Chile on Saturday, February 27, 2010, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean – roughly a quarter of the globe. It was approximately 500 times more powerful than the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. In this photo released by Chile's Presidency, Chile's President Michelle Bachelet, right, inspects an earthquake damaged area in Concepcion, Chile, • A flattened vehicle is pictured amid rubble in Curico, south of Santiago. The United States and Europe vowed to come to Chile's aid as relief workers rushed to the Western hemisphere's second enormous earthquake in seven weeks. Map shows the location of today's earthquake off the coast of Chile and the range of its most severe effects. (Map courtesy USGS) Chile's President Michelle Bachelet talks to an Airforce officer and her security chief in Talca, Chile, 70 miles from the epicenter. CONCEPTION, CHILE • Residents look at a collapsed building in Concepcion, Chile. he epicenter was 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city. People observe a highway and cars destroyed by an earthquake in Concepcion A survivor is lowered by a cable as rescue workers search for victims after an apartment complex collapsed during an earthquake in Concepcion Rescue workers pull out of the rubble an earthquake survivor in Concepcion, southern Chile. A burning building in Conception. 200 miles from the epicenter. SANTIAGO, CHILE: THE CAPITAL • An apartment block leans over after an earthquake in Santiago, the capital of Chile. An apartment block shows major damage after an earthquake in Santiago Smoke from a burning building fills the sky in the outskirts of Santiago. Cars are seen overturned and stuck at a collapsed road in northern Santiago An overturned vehicle sits amidst rubble of a collapsed elevated highway in Santiago, Cars stuck on a damaged road in Santiago A man carries personal belongings as he goes down the stairs of a damaged house in Santiago A cracked wall is seen inside a home damaged by an earthquake in Santiago. The powerful quake plunged much of Santiago into darkness as it snapped power lines, collapsed bridges and severed communications. VALPARAISO, CHILE, A car dealer building is seen partially destroyed in the city of Valparaiso, Chile. A man stands outside a home destroyed in an earthquake in Valparaiso A man makes a purchase from the window of a shop that was damaged by an earthquake in Valparaiso Motorists line up for gasoline as it became difficult to find the fuel after an earthquake in Valparaiso. A man inspecting his home in Valparaíso after the earthquake struck. Residents sleep in the streets for fear of aftershocks following a major earthquake in Valparaiso. Fortunately, February is late summer in Chile. A policeman speaks on his mobile phone near rubble in Valparaiso, Chile. Rescue teams hunted for survivors Sunday. DAMAGE IN OTHER LOCATIONS The remains of a hotel in Vina del Mar after part of it collapsed. A resident walks along a damaged street in Talca, Chile, A scene at a hospital in Talca. One death in Talca, located south of Santiago. A truck passes a damaged way near San Rafael, Earthquake-damaged buildings are shown in Maipu, Chile, A collapsed bridge over the Claro river is seen near the town of Camarico, Chile Residents camped out in San Rafael, afraid of going back inside their houses. TSUNAMI DAMAGES & PRECAUTIONS Relatives of Chileans who live in Robinson Crusoe Island wait nervously for the arrival of an Air Force plane, carrying islanders injured by the tsunami generated by the earthquake. A resident, who was injured by the tsunami generated by an earthquake just off the continental coast, is helped by Chilean medics Residents gather their belongings near a fishing boat washed up by a wave generated by an earthquake in Talcahuano Port, a city just outside Concepcion Children walk past shipping containers washed up by a wave caused by an earthquake in Talcahuano Port. Sea water rushes into the port area of Port Ayora, in what experts said was due to the tsunami generated by a major earthquake in Chile, in Puerto Ayora of the Galapagos Islands, A Seal Beach lifeguard stops to tell a group of people that Seal Beach, California is closed for safety reasons after the earthquake in Chile and the possible tsunami surge along the West Coast, Onlookers, watching the sea, stand above an empty Manly Beach in Sydney February 28, 2010. Authorities closed many beaches on Australia's east coast in response to a tsunami warning People watch the waves on an empty Manly Beach in Sydney at about 8:50am local time February 28, 2010 Houses are flooded in seawater in a section of Kesennuma, northern Japan on Sunday Feb. 28, 2010. Japan, fearing the tsunami could gain force as it moved closer, put all of its eastern coastline on tsunami alert Sunday AID TO THOSE AFFECTED BY THE EARTHQUAKE