Valdivia is a lovely town in southern Chile that was made infamous in 1960 by being near the epicenter of the most powerful earthquake ever recorded (9.5 MMS). The earthquake created landslides and tsunamis. We were told by our guide that the ground opened up and swallowed people. The death toll estimates range from 1,500 to 5,000 people and nearly two million were left homeless in Chile. That is an incredible statistic given the sparse population of Chile at that time. The death toll would have been greater if there had not been a foreshock that drove people from their homes where they were less vulnerable to collapsing structures. The first tusnami was a 26 foot wave that decimated most structures along the shore. A second bigger and slower moving wave 35-feet tall hit several minutes later and is estimated to have killed up to 1,000 people. These waves killed hundreds of people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines as well. Aftershocks occurred for thirty days. We saw a couple of concrete highrises in the city and I couldn't help wonder about the seismic design that went into them.
There are few signs of the devastation present today. The first three photos below were taken in the local botanical gardens while the remainder were taken along the main waterways running through the town.
