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The Strongest Earthquake Ever Recorded Hits Valdivia · Chronopin

DisasterPosted 09/21/202609/21/2026 at 8:57 pm·@ScienceDesk To timeline

The Strongest Earthquake Ever Recorded Hits Valdivia

The Strongest Earthquake Ever Recorded Hits Valdivia

Starts 05/22/1960 7:11PM

Offshore Valdivia, Los Rios, Chile

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Chile
Great Chilean Earthquake
Megathrust
Pacific Tsunami
Strongest Quake Ever Recorded

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The USGS^[2][3] catalogue gives 1960-05-22T19:11:20Z as the origin time of event official19600522191120_30; the source^[1] states "19:11:14 UTC, 15:11:14 local time", six seconds earlier, and the catalogue value is used here.

Start: May 22, 196090% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

The Strongest Earthquake Ever Recorded Hits Valdivia

A magnitude 9.5 megathrust rupture off southern Chile shook for ten minutes — the strongest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded. Its tsunami crossed the Pacific and struck Hilo, Hawaii, with waves 10.7 m high.

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]

0

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_earthquake
en.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 Survey
usgs.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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