Valparaiso Earthquake 1906: Some More Images

Calle Maipu down on the Plan:

And a panoramic view of the devastation taken from probably around Cerro Bellavista, judging by the curvature of the bay.

Click here to see more posts (below this one).

Calle Condell Before and After The 1906 Earthquake

These pictures give a pretty good idea as to the level of destruction wrought by the 1906 earthquake in Valparaiso.

Before- around 1870-1880. Look how pretty and peaceful it looks; no micros.

After- 1906

The church tower you can see belonged to the Iglesia Espiritu Santo in Plaza Victoria. It survived the 1906 earthquake but not the mentally deficient town planners who decided to knock it down in the 1970s in order to build an apartment block so monumentally foul, one might conclude that the architect was a blind toddler who drew up the plans with a pencil between his toes.

1906 Earthquake IV: Looters

As with most natural disasters, law and order after the 1906 earthquake here in Valparaiso was somewhat lacking. For this reason, the local authorities gave the order for looters to be executed on the spot. These guys were unlucky enough to be caught. You've got to love the mob justice. It's just like the Festival de Viña when they boo artists so much they cry and run off stage :)

This person looks no older than 14 or 15. And given that he's surrounded by gawping children, it suggests that he wasn't older than 14 or 15...

Valparaiso Earthquake1906 III: The Dead

As I mentioned in the first post about the 1906 earthquake in Valparaiso (second post here), the death toll was around 3000 people. This number doesn't include the many people who died after the event in the days and weeks that followed. Many more died due to the fires that raged in the Almendral and also due to injuries caused by the earthquake.

Below are a few more images of the catastrophic nature of the quake and a list of the people who are known to have died during the actual earthquake.

Errazuriz y Edwards


Plazuela Bellavista


Fire on Avenida Brasil

Valparaiso Earthquake 1906 II

Some more images from the 1906 earthquake in Valparaiso. Part I is here

Plazuela Bellavista in ruins. Plazuela Bellavista is now Plaza Bellavista after the magnificent decision to demolish the Edificio Brown in the 70s.


Calle Condell in Barrio Puerto


A Panoramic view of the Almendral. I can't work out where the photo was taken-I think probably from Cerro Bellavista.

Valparaiso Earthquake 1906

Another of the books available for download on Memoria Chilena is entitled 'The Catastrophe of August 16 1906 in the Republic of Chile'. A better name could not be found.

The earthquake that hit Valparaiso at 7.55pm on that day was catastrophic. Around 3000 people died during the quake and countless more in the days that followed due to their injuries. 20,000 people were seriously injured. Much of Barrio El Almendral was flattened, along with a fair proportion of Barrio Puerto. In the hills, Cerros Carcel y Merced were the most affected. Cerros Alegre y Concepcion, the richest, most upmarket (as they still are) and mainly foreign neighbourhoods were barely affected due to the hills being pretty solid bedrock.

People were hit by falling masonry, crushed in their houses or burnt alive due to the fires that raged in the days after the event. Looters were summarily executed. Buildings continued to topple for days after the quake and more were demolished for being structurally unsound. Material losses were estimated at over 300 million pesos (I have no idea what that amount would be in today's money. Several hundred million Dollars I should imagine). The cost of reconstruction, many times that amount.

Map marking the worst hit areas:


Over the next few days and weeks I'll post more photos from after the disaster. Here are a few to get started.

Plaza Victoria:


Teatro Victoria:


Calle Victoria:

Bodies: