earthquakes

A massive earthquake has hit Chile this morning. While I was in Peru, I saw the damage caused by an 7.9- magnitude eathquake in 2007 which killed at least 519 people in the coastal province of Ica, about 145km (250 miles) south-east of the capital, Lima. Buildings still lie in ruins while new shacks emerge on the edge of the towns and villages. The new home funded by the Vine Trust in Ica looks after 40 boys, many of them orphaned by the earthquake. The earthquake in Chile was much larger than the recent one in Haiti. The relatively small number of casualties in comparison, is probably linked to the distance from the epicentre of major populations. Chile is also a much more prosperous nation, so the buildings are likely to be of a quality which would cope better with earthquakes.