[4] The 1906 disaster was predicted by Captain Arturo Middleton, Chief of the Chilean Army Meteorological Office, in a letter that was published in El Mercurio, one week before it occurred.

Admiral Luis Gómez Carreño ordered the shooting of at least 15 people, who were caught looting after the earthquake.

[citation needed] Citing the conjunction of Neptune with the moon,[7] Captain Arturo Middleton, Chief of the Chilean Army's Meteorological Office, predicted the earthquake in a letter published in the Valparaíso newspaper El Mercurio on August 6.

"[8] On August 16, 1906, at 19:55 local time,[9] while most Chileans were dining, a subterraneous sound was heard, and before it ended, the first tremor occurred, lasting about four minutes.

[12] The focal mechanism has been assessed using contemporary seismograph records from five stations, which were published soon after the earthquake.

[1] There were several destructive fires in El Almendral (from Plaza de la Victoria to Cerro Barón), Mercado Cardonal, Teatro de la Victoria (Victory Theatre), the Intendencia, the Maritime Government in Sotomayor Square and the Fiscal Dock at the port.

The newspaper El Mercurio reported in its August 17 edition that "the earthquake was produced in a violent way since its beginning, and provoked an indescribable panic through all the four thousands of inhabitants of Santiago and an unprecedented terror in the last years.

Gómez ordered the distribution of water and food, removal of corpses and demolition of buildings in risk of collapse, from a tent in Plaza de La Victoria.

Firefighters from other cities of Chile, including Santiago, Concepción and Talcahuano, moved to Valparaíso to help the local Fire Bureau.

[10][17] On August 25, President Germán Riesco and President-Elect Pedro Montt arrived at Valparaíso.