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Last Monday, April
21, Chile got hit by an
earthquake that was 8.9 on
the Richter scale and lasted
95 seconds. The
earthquake shook Chile up
and turned it upside down.
Overturned vehicles and
buildings became a was filled with hundreds of
common sight. The death
toll has reached a high of
600 people and is steadily
rising. Tsunami warnings
are being issued to Chile
and all nearby countries.
An eye witness,
Daniela Carmen Garcia,
tells her story. ³Usually I
wake up at 6 a.m. which
was an hour before the
earthquake occurred.
Unfortunately, it just so
happened that I forgot to
turn my alarm clock on
and I overslept. I was woke
up when I was thrown out
of my bed and I managed
to move just in time to see
my bookshelf fall exactly
where I was seconds ago. I
wasn¶t sure what to do so I
ran out of my house and
kept running until I found
clear field. I looked around
and there was nothing that
could fall on me so I was
safe. My cell phone wasn¶t
car so I had no idea what
to do. Hours passed and
somehow I fell asleep. I
shook awake by man in a
red uniform. The man
turned out to be a fire
fighter and he led me to a
small shabby building that
confused people like me.
Later I learned that my
house, and everything in it,
was annihilated. In less
than two minutes, my life¶s
hard was reduced to
rubble.´ Other witnesses
have told similar stories.
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Destroyed Houses
Chile is on the west
coast of South America.
When the Nazca plate sub
ducts under the South
American it accumulates
stress in the crust. After the
stress becomes too much,
an earthquake occurs. An
earthquake is a vibration or
shaking under the earth
that is caused by the
movement of earth¶s
plates. This is why Chile
has very violent
earthquakes in its history.
Looting is another
added problem. For the
couple buildings and
houses that are still up,
there missing goods. It is
thought that thie ves
might have stolen goods
from abandoned buildings.
Order is trying to be
restored.
Many organizations
around the world are
helping out earthquake
victims by raising money
for the cause including
America. Many schools are
also trying to raise money.
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working and I didn¶t own a