Chile Shock 500x Energy of Haiti Quake

(AP)  The 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday morning released 500 times the energy of the 7.0-magnitude quake that struck Haiti last month, a geophysicist told CBS' "The Early Show."

Tsunami warnings were issued for much of the Pacific, including Hawaii, following the quake that struck near the Chilean coast, killing at least 76 people.

"When the earthquake occurred, it moved the land and then it moved the water causing the tsunami," said U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Jessica Sigala. "And the coastal areas of Chile have already noticed the wave heights up to about 7 feet."

Sigala said Hawaiians can expect to see the waves from this tsunami around 11:20 a.m. local time (about 4:20 p.m. ET). "So we have to wait and see how big the waves will be."

Special Section: Earthquake in Chile
8.8 Mag. Chile Quake Prompts Tsunami Fears

"It's not so much the height [of the wave] but it's the width, it's how long the duration, and then it's also the speed at which it's traveling," said co-anchor Kelly Cobiella "Correct me if I'm wrong, but these waves are traveling at the speed of a jetliner, about 500 miles per hour?"

"That's correct. It's a big block of water coming onto the land," Sigala said.

Chile has already experienced several aftershocks following the quake.

"Aftershocks are definitely a concern," said Sigala. "We always see aftershocks with a large quake and a shallow quake, which this one was. And as of right now, we've located about maybe 15 aftershocks and those are of the larger kind. I'm sure they felt much more than that.

"A shallow earthquake just means that it happened pretty close to the surface," said Sigala. "And because of that the energy is really close to the surface, where all the buildings and people are."

In addition to last month's Haiti quake, Japan's Meteorological Agency reported on Saturday that a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit off Japan's southern coast, shaking Okinawa and nearby islands.

Sigala said scientists see on average one magnitude 8 earthquake every year. "So this is very alarming for us."

[jroach31]

re:
by hateisafourletterword February 27, 2010 1:34 PM EST
jroach31 - perhaps it is lost on you, but some of us are tired of sending billions upon untold billions of direct U.S. Government aid not to mention the billions in private donations to Haiti and all we have to show for it is the comments you made. OK Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. So where is the billions and billions? Stolen by former leaders or where?

Fix the fraud first. I guess that gets lost on people who use money to make hateful comments like yours.
-----------------------------------------------

Psst. Hatey four letter person:

The post I responded to said nothing about fraud. Feel free to go back and actually read it.

That particular "person" (and I use the term loosely) was upset about sending money to "ethnic" places that had death and destruction and homelessness measured in the millions of lives, while not sending money to "white" places that had some cancelled airline flights.

Get it? Probably not.

[ilyaquiss]

chile hasn't asked for any help but if they do we will all help them.

[nazdackster]

500x doesn't sound correct. 10^8.8/10^7 = 63x. Still quite a difference.

[nazdackster]

legacy, what in the above equation looks linear to you? Does the exponent character not tip you off? But the article talked about energy, not amplitude, which varies as 10^(difference)^(3/2), or 10^1.8^1.5, or 260x the energy, 63x the amplitude. Incidentally, an 8.8 earthquake releases the energy of about 16 billion tons of TNT. Not small change. The author is off by a factor of 2.

[rockgurlyeah]

Actually, the 63 times is for the amplitude on the actual seismogram. In terms of energy, for every 1.0 change in magnitude, there is 32 times the energy released...

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/how_much_bigger.php

[pensacola8-2009]

Let's get started with the help and assistance effort. Our finest hour awaits us as rescues are made. Those who help and send their assistance own a piece of the most important part of the disaster - the rescue and recovery. The heart of a survivor is always grateful.

[magnumdr]

The second coming is near!

[Brig1713]

I agree! For it is written: "Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven...Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21:10-11, 26-28

[toldyouso21]

So now the great big Chile orphan giveaway begins...

CAlling all guilt ridden, hypocritical Americans---show what great and giving and loving people you are--give blankets, rice, and lots of money to Chile and run to get their orphans or at least to get all those free kids whose parents are willing to sell them--then run back and pat yourselves on the back--then counterbalance that against all the horrors we did in Iraq and all the dead our payback zeal caused--to a country whose only crime in 9/11 was having a despot for a leader and oil under their sand..........

[sdcazares1980]

Aw, shut up!

[fsgkevin]

SO where is th eout cry to help this poor Central American country in this crisis? Oh, I see, not "ethinic enough". What about the snow storm in the Northeast of the USA? Oh, too "white" for help. When the Tsunami hits Hawaii? Oh, not on the North American continent.

[crimsonandclovr4]

umm, oh, i don't know, maybe because a lot more people died in Haiti? and because we all know it's a lot tougher for Haiti to get back on their feet than ANY of those other places you mentioned?
and the snow storm in the east coast? REALLY? you're comparing that to the severity of the the earthquake in Haiti?
i'm all for helping out anyone if i can, but that Haiti got a lot of media coverage because thousands of people died, and still might, and they still have a lot of hard things ahead of them because they don't have homes anymore.
try not to attack people who help other people.

[jroach31]

Ignorance and whiny racism do not make for very good commenting, do they?

Chile is a developed country with a national health care system which ranks higher than the US. By most measures it is the most advanced and prosperous country in Latin America. The death toll in this quake may eventually reach into the hundreds which is tragic, but Chile can easily handle the care of survivors and the ensuing cleanup-probably much better than the US handled the aftermath of Katrina.

In contrast, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. It had no health care system at all, and what little government existed was destroyed in their earthquake. The death toll in Haiti exceeds 240,000 which is higher than the multi-country toll in the 2005 Christmas tsunami.

Of course you would equate this massive tragedy with some cancelled flights in the Northeast and a 14 hours notice on a few big waves for the surfers on Maui; that's the kind of creature you are.