Earth movers

Disasters | The toll could have been much worse, but earthquakes in Chile and Turkey have left many in need | Jamie Dean

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Not long after returning from earthquake-ravaged Haiti, aid worker Paula Saez faced a new disaster: a massive earthquake in her native Chile. The 8.8-magnitude quake that wracked southern Chile in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 27 released 500 times more energy than the Haiti quake and became the fifth-strongest earthquake ever recorded.

Within nine days, two more high-magnitude earthquakes struck halfway around the world: A 6.4-magnitude quake hit Taiwan on March 4. The nation reported no deaths. A 6.0-magnitude quake struck four days later in Turkey, killing at least 51 people.

The Chilean death toll, though grievous, appeared far less than the estimated 200,000 deaths in Haiti: Chilean officials initially estimated more than 800 deaths, but the interior ministry reduced that figure to nearly 500 by March 8.