8.3 quake rocks Chile
TSUNAMIS have been observed after a powerful 8.3 magnitude earthquake shook Chile’s capital Santiago, and was felt as far away as Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Several strong aftershocks hit the capital within minutes as tsunami alarms sounded in the port of Valparaiso and authorities issued a tsunami alert for the entire coast.
At least two people were killed and 10 others injured.
J Jorge M Medina, a Santiago resident, said he was in an aerobics class when the quake hit: “People started screaming that everything was shaking.’'
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said tsunamis had been seen, with waves 3m above the ti tide level along the coast of C Chile. The centre also said tsunamis of one to three metres were forecast along some parts of French Polynesia.
The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management in New Zealand issued a tsunami warning for East Cape, Chatham Islands, Coromandel and Banks Peninsula. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories.
Officials ordered people to evacuate low-lying areas along the 3900km of Chile’s Pacific shore.
Fishing boats headed out to sea and cars streamed inland carrying people to higher ground. Santiago’s main airport was evacuated.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck just offshore at 7.54pm and was centred about 228km northnorthwest of Santiago.
A magnitude-8.8 quake and ensuing tsunami in south-central Chile in 2010 killed more than 500 people, destroying 220,000 homes and washing away docks, riverfronts and seaside resorts.