In May of 1960 a massive Earthquake devastated the small country of Chile, the earthquake measured 9.5 on the Richter scale. More than 2,000 people were killed, 3,000 injured, 2,000,000 homeless, and $550 million damage in southern Chile. The tsunami caused by the quake caused 61 deaths, $75 million damage in Hawaii; 138 deaths and $50 million damage in Japan; 32 dead and missing in the Philippines; and $500,000 damage to the west coast of the United States.
The instruments that seismologists use to measure earthquake magnitudes are designed to detect the amount of energy released by the m…