From my understanding they are talking about energy and not degrees on the scale. As has already been noted it was deeper down than the Haiti earthquake. So imagine how much worse it could have been. Regardless of how it's measured or explained the point is that it was a much more powerful earthquake ranking in at number 5 on the all time modern list.

NikoDoby said:
The scale doesn't work that way. I'm not an expert but according to the news info I've read it was 500 times more powerful.

ABCNews.com quote,"The earthquake, which hit just after 3 a.m. local time, was 500 times larger than the one that devastated Haiti last month but was much deeper, likely making the number of casualties far fewer than those in the Caribbean nation."

Foxnews.com quote, "In terms of energy released at the epicenter, the Chilean quake was 501 times stronger. But energy dissipates rather quickly as distances grow from epicenters — and the ground beneath Port-au-Prince is less stable by comparison and "shakes like jelly," says University of Miami geologist Tim Dixon."

Also the building structures in Haiti were much weaker than in Chile. The better constructed buildings in Chile, for the most part, helped too.

I've read somewhere that it was 20-30 times more powerful from the NY Times, but the Richter scale is base 10 logarithmic based, so I'm not sure how they come up with those numbers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricter_scale

the difference between this two earthquakes is huge, the haitian one was less powerful but it was very shallow, while the chilean was much stronger but it was much deeper inside; anyway, the pictures are so sad, and I keep my fingers crossed for all the missing ones.

NSXType-R said:
The Chilean earthquake was an 8.8, and I think the Haitian earthquake was a 7.7, so it's about 10 times more powerful because it goes by a logarithmic scale.

Still, any earthquake is bad.

The scale doesn't work that way. I'm not an expert but according to the news info I've read it was 500 times more powerful.

ABCNews.com quote,"The earthquake, which hit just after 3 a.m. local time, was 500 times larger than the one that devastated Haiti last month but was much deeper, likely making the number of casualties far fewer than those in the Caribbean nation."

Foxnews.com quote, "In terms of energy released at the epicenter, the Chilean quake was 501 times stronger. But energy dissipates rather quickly as distances grow from epicenters — and the ground beneath Port-au-Prince is less stable by comparison and "shakes like jelly," says University of Miami geologist Tim Dixon."

Also the building structures in Haiti were much weaker than in Chile. The better constructed buildings in Chile, for the most part, helped too.

I heard the Tsunami that hit Japan was small in size luckily. Just 3 foot waves. A lot of earthquakes this year maybe from global warming? Chilling images thanks for the link NikoDoby....

yeah, all my girlfriend's family lives there, luckily they live fairly far from the epicenter, and it seems that everyone is ok.

really so scary.

NikoDoby said:
Wow, another month and another horrible earthquake! Photos 13 and 22 of the high rise apartment complex on it's side are so shocking. This earthquake was said to have had 500 times more energy than the one that struck Haiti.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/earthquake_in_chile.html

Thoughts and prayers for the people of Chile.

The Chilean earthquake was an 8.8, and I think the Haitian earthquake was a 7.7, so it's about 10 times more powerful because it goes by a logarithmic scale.

Still, any earthquake is bad.

Yes, definitely. Thanks for the link, Niko. I've got some friends in Chile and my parents lived in Santiago for a while. They experienced a couple of small earthquakes while there (~4-5 magnitude). This won't be as destructive as the Port-au-prince earthquake because Chile expects and plans for these things, besides that it wasn't as close to any of the major cities. But that's not much consolation for people who lost family members, friends, houses, etc.

Wow, another month and another horrible earthquake! Photos 13 and 22 of the high rise apartment complex on it's side are so shocking. This earthquake was said to have had 500 times more energy than the one that struck Haiti.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/02/earthquake_in_chile.html

Thoughts and prayers for the people of Chile.