Great Quakes

It was just past 7:30 PM on a quiet April evening in 1943. Families in the small Chilean town of Ovalle were winding down for the night. Some gathered around radios for the evening news, others finished dinner or stepped outside to enjoy the cool autumn air. Life moved slowly in this rural corner of the Coquimbo Region—until the ground began to roar. At first, it was a low rumble. Glasses rattled. Dogs barked. Then, in a matter of seconds, the earth heaved violently, and buildings began to sway and crack. People ran into the streets as adobe walls crumbled...

Imagine you’re on a research vessel in the vast, icy expanse of the Southern Ocean, surrounded by towering icebergs and the endless horizon of frigid waters. The ship’s instruments hum quietly as scientists monitor ocean currents and Antarctic wildlife. Suddenly, the calm is interrupted by a jolt—a vibration so strong that it shakes the ship, rattling equipment and sending ripples across the water’s surface. The crew exchanges bewildered glances. Could it be an earthquake? In this remote part of the world, such an event seems almost unthinkable. But on March 25, 1998, a massive magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck near the...

It was a quiet evening on March 8, 1957, when the ground beneath the remote Andreanof Islands began to tremble. The few residents and military personnel stationed on Adak Island barely had time to react before the shaking intensified. Buildings groaned, dishes crashed to the floor, and the sea itself seemed to pull back in anticipation. Then, with terrifying force, the earthquake unleashed its full fury—a magnitude 8.6 seismic event that would send shockwaves across the Pacific and trigger a tsunami powerful enough to threaten distant shores. Thousands of miles away, the people of Hawaii would soon wake to a...

Imagine standing on the rugged coastline of the Pacific Northwest on a cold winter evening in January 1700. The world seems serene—the gentle rustling of evergreen trees and the distant crash of waves lull you into a sense of calm. But then, without warning, the ground beneath your feet begins to shake violently. Trees sway like blades of grass in a storm, cliffs crumble into the ocean, and a deafening roar fills the air. Moments later, the sea retreats unnaturally far from the shore, exposing the ocean floor, only to return as a monstrous wall of water. Villages are swept...

The midday sun cast a tranquil glow over the coastal villages of Flores on December 12, 1992. Fishermen prepared their boats for another day at sea, while children played near the shore, their laughter mingling with the soothing sound of waves. For the people of Flores, life revolved around the ocean—a source of sustenance, connection, and peace. Yet, in a matter of moments, this serenity was shattered by the violent forces of nature. At precisely 1:29 PM local time, a sudden, powerful earthquake ripped through the island, its deafening rumble shaking the ground and toppling buildings in a matter of...