Dichato is a town along the coast of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, part of the municipality of

Tomé Tomé () is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is bordered by Coelemu to the north, Ránquil and Florida to the east, Penco to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The local economy is based mainly on textile man ...

in the northeast part of

Greater Concepción Gran Concepción is the third largest conurbation in Chile, after Greater Santiago and Greater Valparaíso, with 945,650 inhabitants according to the 2012 pre census. Overview It takes its name after the city of Concepción, the regional capit ...

. At the 2002 census it had 3,057 residents. The town was founded in 1826 by José Miguel Reyes The town was severely damaged in the

2010 Chile earthquake The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami ( es, Terremoto del 27F) occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34 local time (06:34 UTC), having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking la ...

History

27 February 2010 earthquake

After the 8.8 magnitude quake and tsunami, roughly 50 people were missing, and 90% of the town was destroyed. Approximately one hour after the earthquake, teenagers lounging on the beach observed the sea roll out of the horseshoe shaped bay, and immediately ran through town to warn of an impending tsunami. This moved most of the town's population out of harm's way.Associated Press
"Teens helped warn of wave"
''2 March 2010'' (accessed 3 March 2010) Many people who had evacuated for the tsunami, returned after the fifth wave, believing it was over, and were killed by the sixth wave. The tsunami was some 10m high. Vacation cottages were lifted off their pilings by the tsunami and smashed. Fishing boats were washed hundreds of metres inland.Washington Post

Juan Ferero, ''3 March 2010'' (accessed 3 March 2010) The tsunami at Dichato consisted of 7 waves, the sixth being the largest and most damaging.Toronto Star
"Chile town devastated by seven waves"
Oakland Ross, ''7 March 2010'' (accessed 7 March 2010) By early afternoon of the 28th, Chilean government helicopters had started delivering relief supplies. File:Dichato4.JPG, Dichato Bay File:Dichatobandera.gif, Dichato Flag Image:Dichato 2006.jpg, Dichato in 2006

History

27 February 2010 earthquake

References

Citations

See also