Ecology Problems

According APN a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, killing at least 78 people, collapsing buildings and setting off a tsunami.

A huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles (660 kilometers) off the Chilean coast, said President Michele Bachelet. There were no immediate reports of major damage there, she added.

Bachelet said the death toll was at 78 and rising, but officials had no information on the number of people injured. She declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile.

“We have had a huge earthquake, with some aftershocks,” Bachelet said from an emergency response center. She urged Chileans not to panic.

“Despite this, the system is functioning. People should remain calm. We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately,” she said.

Powerful aftershocks rattled Chile’s coast — 19 of them magnitude 5 or greater and one reaching magnitude 6.9 — the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center called for “urgent action to protect lives and property” in Hawaii, which is among 53 nations and territories subject to tsunami warnings.

Largest earthquake 2010

Magnitude 8.8 OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE February 27, 2010
•Magnitude 7.0 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN February 26, 2010
•Magnitude 6.9 CHINA-RUSSIA-NORTH KOREA BORDER REGION February 18, 2010
•Magnitude 3.8 ILLINOIS February 10, 2010
•Magnitude 5.9 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA February 04, 2010
•Magnitude 6.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA February 01, 2010
•Magnitude 5.9 HAITI REGION January 20, 2010
•Magnitude 4.0 OKLAHOMA January 15, 2010
•Magnitude 7.0 HAITI REGION January 12, 2010
•Magnitude 6.5 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA January 10, 2010
•Magnitude 4.1 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA January 07, 2010
•Magnitude 6.8 SOLOMON ISLANDS January 05, 2010
•Magnitude 7.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS January 03, 2010
•Magnitude 6.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS January 03, 2010