The 2010 Chile earthquake had a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale. It struck off central Chile near the Maule Region on February 27, 2010, when the Nazca Plate was forced beneath the South American Plate.
The megathrust earthquake lasted about three minutes and generated a destructive tsunami along Chile’s coast. Waves also crossed the Pacific, causing damage or disturbances as far away as California and Japan. The disaster killed 525 people, left 25 missing, and damaged hundreds of thousands of homes.
This was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded and the strongest to affect Chile since the magnitude 9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake. It is sometimes called the Maule earthquake, after the region near its epicenter. The magnitude should not be confused with the Mercalli intensity scale, which describes shaking and damage at particular locations rather than the earthquake’s overall energy.