In 2010, Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake, which registered at 7.0 on the Richter scale. The largest recorded earthquake since 1900 occurred in 1960 in Valdivia, Chile, and registered at 9.5 on the Richter scale. About how many times greater was the intensity of the Chilean earthquake?

The difference in magnitude is 9.5 − 7.0 = 2.5. Each whole-number increase on the Richter scale represents 10 times the intensity, so a 2.5-point difference means an intensity ratio of 10^2.5, or about 316. The Chilean earthquake was therefore about 316 times as intense.

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