The tsunami hits Chile

My post two days ago about the Xynthia storm may have made it look like I wasn't paying attention to the recent earthquake disasters in Haiti and Chile. Well, obviously I know that they are horrific events. My scientific interest (partly due to the perceived vulnerability of nuclear power plants to earthquakes) was also piqued; and I was curious why the tsunamis weren't bigger across the Pacific.

An article from the Discovery Channel explains why, to an extent, and shows what the aftermath of the tsunamis looked like in Chile. It was fascinating, terrifying, and tragic. I'm no risk-taker, and I still wonder how people can live in places where an earthquake could strike with very little warning at any time. At least if you live in Tornado Alley in the United States, there is an increasingly better weather alert system, and you can have a basement or a storm cellar as a refuge. But earthquakes? There is still hardly any way to know when the "Big One" is going to hit.

Why was the Chilean tsunami so small?