Great Chilean Earthquake and Valdivia in Los Lagos Region (1960-2006)
- Main articles Great Chilean Earthquake, Riñihuazo, Los Ríos Region.
On May 22, 1960, south-central Chile suffered the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, rating 9.5 on the Moment magnitude scale, with Valdivia being the most affected city. The earthquake generated devastating tsunamis that affected Japan and Hawaii. Spanish-colonial forts around Valdivia were severely damaged, while soil subsidence destroyed buildings, deepened local rivers, and created wetlands of the Río Cruces y Chorocomayo - a new aquatic park north of the city.
Large sections of the city flooded after the earthquake, and a landslide near the Tralcan Mount dammed the Riñihue Lake. Water levels in Lake Riñihue rose more than 20 meters, raising the danger of a catastrophic break and of destroying everything downriver. Government authorities drew plans for evacuating the city, but many people left on their own. Danger to the city was reduced after a large team of workers was able to open a drainage channel in the landslide, allowing water levels of the lake to slowly reduce to normal levels. There is evidence that a similar landslide and earthquake happened in 1575.
After the Great Chilean Earthquake Valdivia's economy and political status declined. Much of the city was destroyed and many inhabitants left. By 1974, the military junta reorganized the political divisions of Chile and declared Valdivia a province of the Los Lagos Region with Puerto Montt as the regional capital. Many Valdivians resented the decision, and felt theirs should have been the legitimate regional capital—while Valdivia was founded in 1552, and had resisted pirate attacks, hostile natives and several earthquakes, Puerto Montt was a relatively new city founded only in 1853 (three hundred and one years later).
Since the liberalization of the economy in Chile in the 80s the forestry sector in Valdivia boomed, first by exporting wood chips to Japan from Corral and then by producing woodpulp in Mariquina (25 km northeast of Valdivia). This led to deforestation and substitution of native Valdivian temperate rainforests to plant pines and eucalyptus, but also created new jobs for people with limited education. Valdivia also benefitted from the development of salmon aquaculture in the 90s, but to a much lesser extent than places such as Puerto Montt and Chiloé.
Read more about this topic: History Of Valdivia
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