<Tr> <Th> Casualties </Th> <Td> ~ 28,000 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> * Deprecated </Th> <Td> See documentation . </Td> </Tr> <P> The 1939 Chillán earthquake occurred in south - central Chile on 24 January and had a surface wave magnitude of 8.3 . With a death toll of around 28,000, compared to the 2,231--6,000 (official estimates vary greatly) of the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960, it is the single deadliest earthquake in Chile . </P> <P> At 23: 33, the earth began to shake strongly underneath Chillán, destroying more than half of it, at around 3,500 homes (including the recently constructed Casa Rabié) which then was in the city . After this quake, others came, which, although they were less intense, left the city completely destroyed . Until then, the Cathedral of Chillán had been one of the principal buildings of the area, but it was completely destroyed by the earthquake . The church that was built to replace the one destroyed in the earthquake was designed specifically to withstand future earthquakes . </P>

What was the length of the 1939 chile earthquake