In this deck, you'll learn about the 2010 earthquake in Chile. This is a crucial case study for your AQA GCSE Geography exam, as it's a named example of a tectonic hazard in a High Income Country, or HIC. We'll cover the causes, the primary and secondary effects, and the immediate and long-term responses. Knowing these details will help you score highly in questions about managing natural hazards.

Chile is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. This is because it sits on a destructive plate margin, where the dense Nazca plate is being forced under, or subducted beneath, the less dense South American plate. This process isn't smooth; the plates can stick, causing pressure to build up. When this pressure is suddenly released, it causes a massive earthquake.

The earthquake struck on the 27th of February 2010. It was incredibly powerful, measuring 8.8 on the Richter magnitude scale. The epicentre was located just off the coast of central Chile.