Chile's earthquake (February 27, 2010) destroyed the Church of the Divine Providence

Photo by Santiago Vanegas

One of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history rocked Chile on Saturday, February 27, 2010 killing more than 700 people, toppling buildings and freeways. The Church of the Divine Providence in Avenue Providencia of Santiago, Chile, suffered structural damage from the tremors. This photo was taken a few hours after the earthquake.

Still recovering from a monstrous earthquake last month, Chile was rocked this morning (March 11, 2010) by a significant 7.2 magnitude earthquake. That temblor was then followed by magnitude 6.9 and 6.0 quakes.

Update, 9:39am MST - The USGS has downgraded the largest quake today to a magnitude 6.9 and the second to a 6.7. Since the major magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck that nation on February 27th, aftershocks have continued to frighten residents and threaten to collapse already weakened structures.