Chile Hit by Earthquake 500 Times More Powerful than Haitian Temblor

"Everything is connected to everything else," said Lenin. He might have been a geologist rather than a murdering psychopath. The earthquake that hit Chile over the week-end is probably related to the earthquake that shattered Haiti last month. Stresses that were relieved in the Caribbean may have enhanced those along South America's Pacific coast. In any case, the nation is broken, and it needs the help of the rest of humanity. The Red Cross, as ever, is there to bring aid.

This quake was a huge event. It destroyed countless lives; it created a tsunami that was felt in Japan and Russia; it even affected the Earth's rotation. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory says its computer model suggests that the length of the Earth day may have been shortened by 1.26 millionths of a second.

While the earthquake that hit Chile measured 8.8 on the Richter scale was much more powerful than the 7.0 that hit Haiti, things in Chile are blessedly different, meaning that the death toll will be a fraction of what Haiti suffered. First and foremost, Chileans have greater experience with earthquakes. They actually have a building code that takes geology into account.

Beyond that, Chile is a richer country than Haiti. Things there work. This means that there is a Chilean military that can provide security and logistics. While it is true that there has been looting, one sees no evidence of the kind of anarchy that prevailed in Haiti.

That is not to say that Chile is having a great time of things. The video that has come in showing roads that are plain broken, one part three meters higher than another, suggests that the country will be rebuilding for some time. Another factor weighing against Chile is its shape. A long skinny piece of land that really has just one main freeway running its length makes relief efforts tricky.

After a major disaster, it has become trite to say, but this journal will say it anyway, "Today, we are all Chileans."

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

Kensington Review Home