In terms of magnitude, Chile is the world's most seismic country. It has a coastline of 2,270 miles along the "ring of fire," between the Nacza and Chilean plates. A 1985, 7.1 Richter Scale earthquake was comparable to the San Francisco quake. But a 1960 quake of 9.5 destroyed Valparaiso. Parts of the coast dropped nine feet and 5,000 people were killed. A tsunami followed, killing others. South American engineers design their buildings of reinforced concrete. They do not rock during earthquakes, and since these codes were adopted in 1930, only three engineered buildings have collapsed.
In terms of magnitude, Chile is the world's most seismic country. It has a coastline of 2,270 miles along the "ring of fire," between the Nacza and South American plates. A 1985, 7.1 Richter Scale earthquake was comparable to the San Francisco quake. But a 1960 quake of 9.5 destroyed Valparaiso. Parts of the coast dropped nine feet and 5,000 people were killed. A tsunami followed, killing others. Chilean engineers design their buildings of reinforced concrete. They do not rock during earthquakes, and since these codes were adopted in 1930, only three engineered buildings have collapsed.