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Are You Ready for the Big One? (Viña del Mar)

Visited your lovely town and Valparaiso few weeks back. Lovely, laid-back, frolicking residents and tourists. Was quite intrigued at the blatant absence of tsunami escape route boards and shelter indicators though. Is it maybe that it would be so vain that...there is no point. Offshore Valdivia hosted recorded history's biggest earthquake on 22 May Protected content 9.6MMI. Offshore earthquake off the coast of Chile is a whole different thing than much deeper Protected content depth) earthquakes in the Atacamas or the border of Argentina. It is a whole different science. While newer building may have been built in Chile to take short jolts of upto 8.6-9...there is no building built that can sustain a 9.5 over Protected content (like the Valdivia one was). Here are some figures: an earthquake like Valdivia, offshore from Vino del Mar or Valparaiso will be typically at a distance of Protected content at a depth of Protected content . in such slip-fault zone, the sea bed can rise or fall few hundred meters over a length of Protected content . This will generate a wave about the same length travelling at between Protected content per hour (faster than a jumbo jet!). when it reaches the doomed towns...the wave can be Protected content high. Literally a wall of water. In other words, from the time you see it (and waves out at sea look much less in height until they reach the coast)...you may have at best 60seconds to run and climb a building upto its 5th floor at least (pref. not front-row view). No chance even for Olympians. In the Protected content South Asia Earthquake (9.2), there was cast-iron steel lighthouse at Indira Point (on Great Nicobar Island - India) about Protected content from the earthquake focal point. The lighthouse is already 12.5m above sea level and 35m high. At least the first waves were taller and went above the lighthouse and ripped clean all trees upto that height almost a 1.5kms inland. See the picture before and after - here. In other words, the wave would be even Protected content . taller than the casino on the sea front. Before: Protected content , and after: Protected content . Pray and hit higher grounds!

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