Terrified Chileans flee as massive quake hits

A massive 8.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the centre of Chile triggered the evacuation of coastal areas and warnings that tsunami waves could reach as far as New Zealand and Japan.

At least five people were killed and 10 hurt in Chile, where terrified residents rushed out on to the streets in the capital Santiago. Others did the same as far away as Argentina.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) put the shallow offshore quake at a magnitude of 8.3 and said it hit about 230 kilometres north of Santiago, a city of 6.6 million people.

The quake had a depth of eight kilometres, the USGS said. It also reported two aftershocks, both above magnitude 6.0.

The Chilean Government put the earthquake at 8.0 on the Richter scale.

Interior Minister Jorge Burgos said the evacuation of coastal towns and cities was ordered as a precautionary measure.

A tsunami warning was initially in place for the whole of Chile and Peru’s Pacific coastline.

In Santiago, there were scenes of pandemonium as thousands of people fled swaying buildings.

There were similar scenes of panic in coastal La Serena in the north of Chile, and in Argentina.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said ‘‘hazardous’’ tsunami waves were possible for some coasts, including three metres above the tide level along parts of Chile’s shoreline.

The precautionary alert for Peru was later called off, but scared residents in the city of Ilo, close to the border with Chile, remained out on the streets and in high areas.

In April last year a deadly 8.2-magnitude earthquake in northern Chile killed six people and forced a million to leave their homes in the region around Iquique.

A February 27, 2010 quake that struck just off the coast of Chile’s Maule region measured 8.8 in magnitude, making it one of the largest ever recorded.