- Start
- May 22, 196090% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
The Strongest Earthquake Ever Recorded Hits Valdivia
- Most studies place the magnitude at 9.4-9.6, making it the strongest earthquake ever recorded; the USGS catalogue lists 9.5. [S] [2]
- It struck in the afternoon of 22 May 1960 and lasted ten minutes, with the epicentre near Lumaco, about 570 km south of Santiago. [S]
- Local tsunamis battered the Chilean coast with waves up to 25 m; the main wave crossed the Pacific and devastated Hilo, Hawaii, 10,000 km away, with waves as high as 10.7 m. [S]
- Tsunamis also reached Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia and the Aleutians. [S]
- Fatality estimates range from 1,000 to 6,000 and losses from US$400-800 million at the time. [S]
References 393% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]90%en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquakeen.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts May 22, 1960 ✓· 33% of score
The USGS[2][3] catalogue gives 1960-05-22T19:11:20Z as the origin time of event official19600522191120_30; the source states "19:11:14 UTC, 15:11:14 local time", six seconds earlier, and the catalogue value is used here.
- [2]95%20 Largest Earthquakes in the World Since 1900 | U.S. Geological Surveyusgs.gov· Added Sep 21, 2026· 33% of score
The USGS's[3] own ranking of the largest instrumentally recorded earthquakes, which is what makes the 'strongest ever recorded' claim checkable.
- [3]95%M 9.5 - 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake)earthquake.usgs.gov· Added Sep 21, 2026· 33% of score
The USGS[2] catalogue entry for this event, the source[1] of the magnitude, origin time and epicentre used here.
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