Possible overestimate of projected death toll?

Perhaps surprisingly, Chile seem to expect a death toll in the low hundreds rather that the low hundred-thousands I did.

To be fair, I was comparing with Haiti and waving my hands. It will be a useful lesson to see what the actual comparison will be. Consider - Chile is much better prepared for large earthquakes. A look at the aftermath pics shows much less dramatic damage in Chile than Haiti simply because they build differently. If they really end up with less than 1% of Haiti's toll, then that looks good for NZ: we also build to earthquakes.