1960 Valdivia earthquake
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake () or Great Chilean earthquake ("Gran terremoto de Chile") of 22 May is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 15:11 local time), and lasted approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia and the Aleutian Islands.
Frederick S. Lyman
Letters to his brother David Brainerd Lyman (1840–1914) describe a massive eruption of Mauna Loa on their ranch accompanied by a series of earthquakes from March 27 to March 31. His eyewitness observations, sometimes called the "best account" of the events, has been used by scientists for many years.
A few days later the powerful April 2, 1868 Hawaii earthquake, destroyed their house and most others in the area. A massive landslide triggered by the shock killed much of his livestock. From one of the letters:
"It was impossible to stand, we had to sit on the ground, bracing with hands and feet to keep from rolling over. In the midst of it we saw burst out... what we supposed to be an immense river of molten lava (which afterwards proved to be red earth), which rushed down its headlong course and across the plain below, ... swallowing up everything in its way, trees, houses, cattle, horses, goats and men. ... After the hard shaking had ceased, all along the sea-shore the sea was boiling and foaming furiously, all red, for about an eighth of a mile from the shore, and the shore was covered by the sea."
The resulting tsunami killed many of the witnesses who were living at lower elevations. It was the largest earthquake in modern recorded history of the Hawaiian Islands.
This convinced the family to return to town, where he looked for whatever employment he could.