GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The most powerful earthquake recorded on the Richter scale was the 9.5-magnitude Valdivia Earthquake that struck Chile in 1960, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The seismic event created a tsunami which together killed an estimated 5, 700 people.

Detailed explanation-2: -The largest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 on May 22, 1960 in Chile on a fault that is almost 1, 000 miles long…a “megaquake” in its own right.

Detailed explanation-3: -On May 22, 1960, the largest earthquake in recorded history-magnitude 9.5-struck southern Chile.

Detailed explanation-4: -The earthquake of May 22, 1960, that struck the town of Valdivia in southern Chile is the most powerful ever recorded and has become known as the Great Chilean Earthquake. It is thought to have measured 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale (MMS).