March 25, 1871 Earthquake: Central, Chile

1871, March 25, about 11:00 [local time]. At Santiago and in a large part of Chile, there was an earthquake, the strongest in the last 20 years. It was preceded by a very weak shock, lasting 2-3 seconds. The total duration of the earthquake was 60-70 seconds. The earthquake was strongest at Curepto. Here four homes collapsed, many sank to one side, and all the rest were cracked. Rather deep cracks opened up in the valley of the Mataquito River. The river stopped flowing for a few seconds. Then eddies with funnels and crests up to 1 m (1 vara) high appeared in it.

At Talca, several homes tilted or cracked, but none collapsed. The stucco collapsed in places. Several walls cracked at Curico. At Linares and Chillan, buildings toppled over.

At Rancagua, all the inhabitants ran from their homes. The crockery was broken. At Santiago, cracks formed in some buildings. The Mapocho River stopped flowing for a few moments. There was panic and a barely audible rumble at San Felipe, but the buildings were not damaged. There were also strong shocks but no damage at Loilai, Limache and other settlements. The earthquake was felt as far south as Los Anjeles.

At Valparaiso, several dilapidated homes collapsed and 15 buildings suffered heavy damage. Two children were injured. There was much light damage at other buildings. The railway was damaged. A strong seaquake was felt on a ship in the harbor. The sea became very agitated. The ships in the harbor felt strong tremors. Some of them ran aground.

The earthquake was accompanied by numerous recurrent shocks. (reference #415)

March 25, 1871, 14:46 UTC. Chile, Santiago, and Valparaiso, Talca. Intensity I which corresponds to an earthquake of intensity sufficient to crack walls, break chimneys, to shatter old buildings or to produce cracks in the ground. (reference #1055)