Chile quake stronger than Luzon 1990 quake: Phivolcs

MANILA - Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Wednesday said the magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck Chile this morning is even stronger than magnitude 7.8 quake that struck Luzon in 1990. Speaking to Mornings@ANC, Solidum said the Chile earthquake would have been considered a very destructive quake had it struck on land. The fact that it struck offshore and near less inhabited land areas mitigated its impact somewhat. "Since it's offshore, the shaking felt in Chile and the affected area which is at the north side of Chile is not that populated and I think landslides might happen in steep slopes. I think the main danger then might be the tsunami and so far the maximum tsunami height reported occurred in the town of Pisagua, of around 2.11 meters," he said. MORNINGS@ANC, April 2, 2014