About the Earthquake

The earthquake that hit Chile on February 27, 2010 lasted about 90 seconds. It affected over 2 million people, killed over 400 people, left tens thousands of people homeless and destroyed the schools of 840,000 children. Though it is not a humanitarian crisis on the scale of that currently taking place in Haiti, it will take many years and huge amounts of money to repair the damage to property and to people’s lives. The Government of Chile has anticipated that the cost of reconstruction will near the thirty billion US dollar mark, and will require long-term strategies as well as the commitment of the international community.

Chile is among Canada’s major trading partners and is a cornerstone of the Latin American economy. The impacts of this earthquake will be felt far beyond the borders of that country.

To learn more about the earthquake and Chile:

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada http://www.international.gc.ca/humanitarian-humanitaire/chile_earthquake_chili_seisme.aspx

Government of Canada http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/chile-chili/index.aspx?lang=eng

United States Geological Survey http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/index.php?region=Chile

United States National Library of Medicine http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/chileearthquake.html