I imagine that most of you reading this echo have heard of the earthquake
that just struck the South American nation of Chile. As one who has been through a lot of earthquakes in my life time, which includes a 7.9-8.2
shaker that hit us here in 1992, I believe, I can tell you that an 8.8
temblor is very major business! This is particularly true because it lasted about a minute, just as ours did. In fact, ours lasted for over a minute, as
I recall. There was some major grinding going on under our feet, and it is
said that our entire island was moved to the southeast about a foot!

As the article below points out, considering the magnitude of this quake, we may receive some wave action from it. Exactly how much, I honestly do not
know, but they will have literally thousands of miles to build up their strength, unless they dissipate somehow before arriving here. Being as we
are north of the Equator, while Chile is south of the same, that may have
some effect on whether or not we are hit with any sizable waves.

I can't begin to imagine what kind of destruction has occurred in Chile; and
to be honest, I have mixed feelings when these kinds of "natural disasters" occur. On one hand, we should obviously feel very sorry that so many people suffer from these things, just as they did in Haiti; yet at the same time,
we all realize that these major shakers are a fulfillment of Jesus' very own words, as found in Matthew chapter 24. An increase in earthquake activity is one of the signs of the Endtimes; and these storms and earthquakes are only going to get worse, as we draw closer to the end of things as we currently
know them. God is obviously very upset, and He is going to let the world
know about it in a variety of ways, according to the Book of Revelation.

All we can do is pray that God's true children in that country are spared as much agony and suffering as possible, and that unbelievers will be brought
to Christ through their suffering. Suffering, according to the Apostle Paul, and other writers of the Bible, is supposed to result in godliness, by
drawing us closer to the Lord.

Following is a news article from the Associated Press.


Huge quake hits Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific ------------------------------------------------

By ROBERTO CANDIA and EVA VERGARA, Associated Press Writer Roberto Candia
And Eva Vergara, Associated Press Writer

February 27, 2010


TALCA, Chile û One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Chile
on Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into the fractured earth. A tsunami threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean
ù roughly a quarter of the globe.

Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about by the magnitude-8.8 quake as
if shaken by a giant. At least 147 people were killed, according to Carmen Fernandez, director of the National Emergency Agency.

The quake shook buildings in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires, and was
felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil ù 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to
the east. About 13 million people live in the area where shaking was strong
to severe, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Powerful aftershocks rattled Chile's coast ù 41 of them magnitude 5 or
greater ù in the 10 hours after the quake. Six were sizable quakes in their
own right, magnitude 6 or greater.

In Talca, just 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the epicenter, furniture
toppled as the earth shook for more than a minute in something akin to major airplane turbulence. The historic center of town largely collapsed, but most
of the buildings of adobe mud and straw were businesses that were not
inhabited during the 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST, 0634 GMT) quake.

Neighbors pulled at least five people from the rubble while emergency
workers, themselves disoriented, asked for information from reporters.

Collapsed roads and bridges complicated north-south travel in the narrow
Andean nation. Electricity, water and phone lines were cut to many areas ù meaning there was no word of death or damage from many outlying areas.

In the Chilean capital of Santiago, 200 miles (325 kilometers) northeast of
the epicenter, a car dangled from a collapsed overpass, the national Fine
Arts Museum was badly damaged and an apartment building's two-story parking
lot pancaked, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms rang incessantly.

The jolt set off a tsunami that swamped a village on an island off Chile,
then raced across the Pacific, setting off alarm sirens in Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga. Tahitian officials banned all traffic on roads less than 1,600
feet (500 meters) from the sea and people in several low-lying island
nations were urged to find higher ground.

The first waves were expected to hit Hawaii after 11 a.m. (4 p.m. EST; 2100 GMT) and measure roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) at Hilo. Officials evacuated people and boats near the water and closed shore-side Hilo International Airport.

Experts said tsunami waves could hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand
shores as well as the U.S. West Coast and Alaska. In all, 53 nations and territories were subject to tsunami warnings.

Waves 6 feet (1.8 meter) above normal hit Talcahuano near Concepcion 23
minutes after the quake, then inundated the village of San Juan Bautista on Robinson Crusoe Island, 410 miles (660 kilometers) off the Chilean coast. At least three people were missing on the island, said Ivan de la Maza, superintendent of Chile's principal port zone.

"There was a big wave that covered half of the village," said de la Maza,
who is responsible for the island's port as well.

A helicopter and a Navy frigate were enroute to the island to assist in the search, he said.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in central
Chile but said the government has not asked for assistance from other countries. "The system is functioning. People should remain calm. We're
doing everything we can with all the forces we have," she said.

In Santiago, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many older ones were heavily damaged, including the Nuestra Senora de la
Providencia church, whose bell tower collapsed. A bridge just outside the capital also collapsed, and at least one car flipped upside down. Several hospitals were evacuated due to earthquake damage, Bachelet said.

Santiago's airport will remain closed for at least 24 hours after the
passenger terminal suffered major damage, airport director Eduardo del Canto told Chilean television. TV images showed smashed windows, partially
collapsed ceilings and pedestrian walkways destroyed.

Santiago's subway was shut as well and hundreds of buses were trapped at a terminal by a damaged bridge, Transportation and Telecommunications Minister said. He urged Chileans to make phone calls or travel only when absolutely necessary.

In Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city and only 70 miles (115
kilometers) from the epicenter, nurses and residents pushed the injured
through the streets on stretchers. Others walked around in a daze wrapped in blankets, some carrying infants in their arms. A 15-story building
collapsed, leaving only a few floors intact.

"I was on the 8th floor and all of a sudden I was down here," said Fernando Abarzua, marveling that he escaped with no major injuries. He said a
relative was still trapped in the rubble six hours after the quake, "but he keeps shouting, saying he's OK."

Marco Vidal, a program director for Grand Circle Travel who was traveling
with a group of 34 Americans, was on the 19th floor of the Crown Plaza
Santiago hotel when the quake struck.

"All the things start to fall. The lamps, everything, was going on the
floor," he said. "I felt terrified."

Cynthia Iocono, from Linwood, Pennsylvania, said she first thought the quake was a train.

"But then I thought, `Oh, there's no train here.' And then the lamps flew
off the dresser and my TV flew off onto the floor and crashed."

The quake struck after concert-goers had left South America's leading music festival in the coastal city of Vina del Mar, where organizers canceled performances on Saturday, the final night of the festival. But it caught partiers leaving a disco.

"It was very bad. People were screaming. Some people were running, others appeared paralyzed. I was one of them," Julio Alvarez told Radio
Cooperativa.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May
22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage to the west coast of the United States.

Saturday's quake matched a 1906 temblor off the Ecuadorean coast as the seventh-strongest ever recorded in the world.


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