GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -On May 22, 1960 a great Mw 9.5 earthquake, the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded, occurred off the coast of southern Chile.

Detailed explanation-2: -The earthquake that struck near Valdivia, Chile, in 1960 was the most powerful temblor in recorded history. The quake left about two million people homeless. On May 22, 1960, the most powerful earthquake in recorded history-magnitude 9.5-struck southern Chile.

Detailed explanation-3: -The biggest earthquake ever recorded, of magnitude 9.5, happened in 1960 in Chile, at a subduction zone where the Pacific plate dives under the South American plate.

Detailed explanation-4: -The 1960 Chile earthquake was caused by the Nazca plate releasing tension and descending 15 meters underneath the South American Plate. It happened 30.5 km off the Chilean coast.

Detailed explanation-5: -Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 15:11 local time), and lasted for approximately 10 minutes.