An earthquake measuring 8.0 Mw  struck Santiago, Chile, on 3 March 1985, killing 177 people and injuring about 2,575 others.

[3] Many landslides were registered too, pavement breaks with the destruction of the Pan-American Highway in several points, broken-down bridges and considerable damage in affected town's infrastructure, with a long interruption on basic services.

[4] Reports by local residents in the coastal area from Matanzas to several kilometers north of Algarrobo indicated unusually low tides for a period of three to five days following the earthquake.

This earthquake in particular was considered extremely important in the understanding of earthquakes as "it was very significant as a geophysical event and that the scientific and engineering study of this major shock would be of great value in improving our understanding of plate margin earthquakes, the distribution of strong ground motion, resulting building damage and geologic effects such as soil liquefaction and landsliding".

The precautions that Chile takes now in order to mitigate future risks is to educate its citizens in drills on how to react, having better building codes, and studying seismic data.