The 1985 Santiago earthquake was a seismic movement registered on 3 March 1985 at 22:47 UTC (19:47 local time). Its epicenter was located on the south

South

South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....

 coast

Coast

A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...

s of Valparaíso Region

Valparaíso Region

The V Valparaíso Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's third highest population of 1,539,852 million in 2002 and third smallest area of , the region is Chile's second most densely populated after the Santiago Metropolitan Region...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, close to the beach of Algarrobo

Algarrobo, Chile

Algarrobo is a Chilean city and commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. Located on the country's central coast, it is a popular summer resort for the population of Santiago...

. It had a magnitude of 8.0 M_w

Moment magnitude scale

The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...

.

The earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 was felt between the Antofagasta Region

Antofagasta Region

The II Antofagasta Region is one of Chile's fifteen first-order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla...

 in the north, and the Araucanía Region

Araucanía Region

The IX Araucanía Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south....

 in the south, being felt with more power in Central Chile. It reached a maximum intensity of IX in the Mercalli intensity scale

Mercalli intensity scale

The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake, and is distinct from the moment magnitude M_w usually reported for an earthquake , which is a measure of the energy released...

. The most affected zone was the port of San Antonio

San Antonio, Chile

San Antonio, meaning "Saint Anthony", is a major Chilean port and a commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region...

, in Valparaíso Region, together with Alhué

Alhué

Alhué is a Chilean town and commune located in Melipilla Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Alhué spans an area of and has 4,435 inhabitants . Of these, 2,593 lived in urban areas and 1,842 in rural areas...

 and Melipilla

Melipilla

Melipilla is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital...

 in Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region or simply Metropolitan Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago...

 and Rengo

Rengo

Rengo is a city and commune located in the Zona Central of Chile, situated in the Cachapoal Province of the O'Higgins Region at a distance of south of the city of Rancagua and south of the national capital Santiago...

 in O'Higgins Region

O'Higgins Region

The VI O'Higgins Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, one of Chile's founding fathers....

. The earthquake also affected Chile's capital city Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

 with great intensity.

The final victims count threw 177 dead, 2,575 hurt, 142,489 destroyed houses and about a million people houseless. Many landslides were registered too, pavement breaks with the destruction of Pan-American highway

Pan-American Highway

The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...

 in several points, broken-down bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

s and considerable damage in affected town's infrastructure, with a long
interruption on basic services. The damage was valued in more than 1,046 million US dollars.