The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and the 1985 Algarrobo earthquake both caused damage in Santiago , and led to the development of strict building codes with a view to minimising future earthquake damage . In 2010 Chile was struck by the sixth largest earthquake ever recorded , reaching 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale . 525 people died , of whom 13 were in Santiago , and the damage was estimated at 15 – 30 billion US dollars . 370,000 homes were damaged , but the building codes implemented after the earlier earthquakes meant that despite the size of the earthquake , damage was far less than that caused a few weeks earlier by the 2010 Haiti earthquake , in which at least 100,000 people died
sixth largest earthquake ever recorded
2010 Chile earthquake
Santiago