The 1960 Valdivia earthquake, also called the Great Chilean Earthquake, is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded by instruments. It occurred along the subduction zone where the Nazca plate slides beneath South America, rupturing a fault hundreds of kilometres long in southern Chile. It was preceded by large foreshocks the day before, and it triggered landslides, floods and eruptions as well as a major tsunami. The tsunami crossed the Pacific, causing deaths and destruction in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines many hours later. Southern Chile was devastated, with towns such as Valdivia severely damaged, and the event became a key case in the study of earthquakes and tsunami warning.
Before and after
- 21 April 1960Founding of Brasília
- 1 May 19601960 U-2 incident spy aircraft
- 9 May 1960The contraceptive pill is approved in the United States
- 16 May 1960Laser
- 21 May 19601960 Valdivia earthquake
- 30 May 1960Death of Boris Pasternak
- from June 1960 to November 1966Congo Crisis
- 30 June 1960The Congo becomes independent from Belgium
- 11 July 1960Publication of To Kill a Mockingbird
More in Earth & climate
- 6 December 1947Establishment of Everglades National Park
- 8 April 1949Establishment of Plitvice Lakes National Park
- 1980Establishment of Komodo National Park
- 5 June 1981The first cases of AIDS are reported
- 20032003 European heat wave
- from 3 November 2013 to 11 November 2013Typhoon Haiyan
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.