-32.4, -71.4
The 1906 Valparaíso earthquake hit Valparaíso, Chile, on August 16 at 19:55 local time. Its epicenter was offshore from the Valparaíso Region, and its intensity was estimated at magnitude 8.2 Mw. This earthquake occurred thirty minutes after the 1906 Aleutian Islands earthquake.
Much of Valparaíso was destroyed; there was severe damage in central Chile from Illapel to Talca. The earthquake was felt from Tacna to Puerto Montt. Reports said the earthquake lasted four minutes. A tsunami was also generated. The earthquake killed a reported 3,882 people.
The record of previous seismic activity includes major earthquakes in 1647, 1730 and 1822. The 1906 disaster was predicted by Captain Arturo Middleton, Chief of the Chilean Army Meteorological Office, in a letter that was published in El Mercurio, one week before it occurred.
Admiral Luis Gómez Carreño ordered the shooting of at least 15 people, who were caught looting after the earthquake. A Board for Reconstruction was formed some weeks after the earthquake. The Seismological Service of Chile was also created.