Chile Quake Doesn't Compare to 1960 Horror

(CBS)  Chile's precarious location makes it a prime target for seismic activity, including the most powerful earthquake scientists have ever recorded, reports CBS News Correspondent Bill Whitaker.

Even today the images and the impact of that 1960 quake in Chile have the power to shock.

Special Section: Earthquake in Chile

"Thousands are dead," a newsreel from 1960 reported. "One quarter of the nation, over 2 million, homeless. Whole cities have been reduced to shambles."

The 1960 quake - about 10 times greater than Saturday's - shook Chile for 11 horrifying minutes and sent shockwaves around the world, triggering destructive tsunamis. Fifteen hours later, a 35-foot wave smashed into Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, more than 6,000 miles away.

Sixteen hundred houses were destroyed, and 185 people were dead or missing. A day later, a deadly 18-foot wave slammed into Japan. Tsunamis swept across the Pacific from the Philippines to California.

More coverage of the earthquake in Chile

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Tsunami Hits Hawaii, Minimal Damage
Hawaii's 1960 Tsunami
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Obama: U.S. "Will Be There" For Chile
Images From Chile Earthquake

Along the California coast, the tsunami swept in at an angle, causing heavy damage, according to newsreels from back then.

It wasn't the worst earthquake ever, but it was the worst ever recorded. For the first time, a quake's tremendous power and reach were picked up by sensors newly placed around the globe to monitor Cold War nuclear testing by the United States and Soviets.

"When you have a big enough earthquake, it releases enough energy to set the whole Earth ringing almost like a bell, and it rang for days after the 1960 earthquake," said Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey.

That 1960 quake had another impact. It convinced earthquake-threatened cities from Chile to California to toughen up building codes and beef up tsunami warning systems.

Black and white images taken back then show the start of a new age of earthquake science and preparedness.

[myzery22]

President Obama proclaims March to be Red Cross month. Now is the time to create awareness for Chile quake victims and Haiti earthquake survivors. The earthquake death toll in 2010 is at new heights. Volunteers across the world are extending their reach to donate supplies and funds to humanitarian relief efforts. Medicine, materials, generators, fuel and clean water are what people need most.

Generosity is what drives us. http://chiledisasterrelief.com

[rocketjl]

Wow Bill, what a no-brainer. I'll bet it doesn't compare to mom's apple pie either. 'Doesn't compare', my my what will we do. Bill, please put all your words back into the bucket and shake. When well mixed, describe the story with a little better taste and compassion. Yeah buddy, people didn't get killed as bad as they did in 1960..... What was this all about??????