The Star Online:
8.8-magnitude earthquake hits central Chile; tsunami threatens Pacific
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SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - A devastating magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile
early Saturday, shattering buildings and bridges, killing at least 78 people
and setting off a tsunami that threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean
- roughly a quarter of the globe.
Chilean TV showed devastating images of the most powerful quake to hit the
country in a half-century: In the second city of Concepcion trucks plunged into
the fractured earth, homes fell, bridges collapsed and buildings were engulfed
in flames. Injured people lay in the streets or on stretchers.
Many roads were destroyed and electricity and water were cut to many areas.
There was still no word of death or damage from many outlying areas that were
cut off by the quake that struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST, 0634 GMT) 200
miles (325 kilometres) southwest of Santiago.
Experts warned that a tsunami could strike anywhere in the Pacific, and Hawaii
could face its largest waves since 1964 starting at 11:19 a.m. (4:19 p.m. EST,
2119 GMT), according to Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Centre.
Tsunami waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores
within 24 hours of the earthquake. The U.S. West Coast and Alaska, too, were
threatened.
A huge wave swept into a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410
miles (660 kilometres) off the Chilean coast, President Michele Bachelet said,
but there were no immediate reports of major damage there.
Bachelet said the death toll was at 78 and rising, but officials had no
information on the number of people injured. She declared a "state of
catastrophe" in central Chile. "We have had a huge earthquake, with some
aftershocks," Bachelet said from an emergency response centre. She urged
Chileans not to panic.
"Despite this, the system is functioning. People should remain calm. We're
doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will
share immediately," she said.
Powerful aftershocks rattled Chile's coast - 21 of them magnitude 5 or greater
and one reaching magnitude 6.9 - the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
Bachelet urged people to avoid traveling, since traffic lights are down, to
avoid causing more fatalities.
The airport for Chile's capital of Santiago airport was shut down and will
remain closed for at least the next 24 hours, airport director Eduardo del
Canto said.
The passenger terminal suffered major damage, he told Chilean television in a
telephone interview. TV images show smashed windows, partially collapsed
ceilings and pedestrian walkways destroyed.
In Concepcion, nurses and residents pushed some of the injured through the
streets on stretchers. Others walked around in a daze wrapped in blankets, some
carrying infants in their arms.
The epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometres) from Concepcion, where more
than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles (95 kilometres)
from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was
destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.
The quake also shook buildings in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires, 900
miles (1,400 kilometres) away on the Atlantic side of South America.
Marco Vidal - a program director for Grand Circle Travel who was traveling with
a group of 34 Americans - was on the 19th floor of the Crown Plaza Santiago
hotel when the quake struck.
"All the things start to fall. The lamps, everything, was going on the floor.
And it was moving like from south to north, oscillated. I felt terrified," he
said. Cynthia Iocono, from Linwood, Pennsylvania, said she first thought the
quake was a train.
"But then I thought, oh, there's no train here. And then the lamps flew off the
dresser and my TV flew off onto the floor and crashed."
"It was scary, but there really wasn't any panic. Everybody kind of stayed
orderly and looked after one another," Iocono said.
In Santiago, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many
older ones were heavily damaged, including the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia
church, whose bell tower collapsed. An apartment building's two-level parking
lot also flattened onto the ground floor, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms
and horns rang incessantly. A bridge just outside the capital also collapsed,
and at least one car flipped upside down.
The quake struck after concert-goers had left South America's leading music
festival in the coastal city of Vina del Mar, but it caught partiers leaving a
disco. "It was very bad, people were screaming, some people were running,
others appeared paralyzed. I was one of them," , Julio Alvarez told Radio
Cooperativa in Santiago.
Bachelet said she was declaring a "state of catastrophe" in three central
regions of the country.
She said Chile has not asked for assistance from other countries.
Several hospitals were evacuated due to earthquake damage, she said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center called for "urgent action to protect lives
and property" in Hawaii, which is among 53 nations and territories subject to
tsunami warnings.
"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been
destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a
threat to more distant coasts," the warning center said. It did not expect a
tsunami along the west of the U.S. or Canada but was continuing to monitor the
situation.
The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22,
1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless.
The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines
and caused damage to the west coast of the United States.
It was the strongest quake to hit Chile since a magnitude-9.5 temblor rocked
southern Chile in 1960. Together with an ensuing tsunami, it killed at least
1,716 people.
Earlier report:
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early
Saturday, killing at least 78 people, collapsing buildings and setting off a
tsunami.
A huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles
(660 kilometers) off the Chilean coast, said President Michele Bachelet.
Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area, including South America, Hawaii,
Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and many Pacific
islands.
"It has been a devastating earthquake," Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma
told reporters.
Bachelet said the death toll was at 78 and rising. She declared a "state of
catastrophe" in central Chile.
"We have had a huge earthquake, with some aftershocks," Bachelet said from an
emergency response centre. She urged Chileans not to panic.
"Despite this, the system is functioning. People should remain calm. We're
doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will
share immediately," she said.
In the 2 1/2 hours following the 90-second quake, the U.S. Geological Survey
reported 11 aftershocks, five of them measuring 6.0 or above.
Bachelet urged people to avoid traveling in the dark, since traffic lights are
down, to avoid causing more fatalities.
In the capital, Santiago airport was shut down and will remain closed for at
least the next 24 hours, airport director Eduardo del Canto said. The passenger
terminal has suffered major damage, he told Chilean television in a telephone
interview. TV images show smashed windows, partially collapsed ceilings and
pedestrian walkways destroyed.
Chilean television showed images of destroyed buildings and damaged cars, with
rubble-strewn streets. Dozens of people were seen roaming through the streets,
including some wheeling suitcases behind them. There was a fire burning in one
street with people sitting nearby trying to keep warm.
The quake hit 200 miles (325 kilometres) southwest of the capital, Santiago, at
a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometres) at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT; 1:34 a.m. EST), the
U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometres) from Concepcion, Chile's
second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio
river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski
resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.
Marco Vidal, a program director for Grand Circle Travel traveling with a group
of 34 Americans, was on the 19th floor of the Crown Plaza Santiago hotel when
the quake struck.
"All the things start to fall. The lamps, everything, was going on the floor.
And it was moving like from south to north, oscillated. I felt terrified," he
said. Cynthia Iocono, from Linwood, Pennsylvania, said she first thought the
quake was a train.
"But then I thought, oh, there's no train here. And then the lamps flew off the
dresser and my TV flew off onto the floor and crashed."
"It was scary, but there really wasn't any panic. Everybody kind of stayed
orderly and looked after one another," Iocono said.
In Santiago, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many
older ones were heavily damaged, including the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia
church, whose bell tower collapsed. An apartment building's two-level parking
lot also flattened onto the ground floor, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms
and horns rang incessantly. A bridge just outside the capital also collapsed,
and at least one car flipped upside down.
In the coastal city of Vina del Mar, the earthquake struck just as people were
leaving a disco, Julio Alvarez told Radio Cooperativa in Santiago. "It was very
bad, people were screaming, some people were running, others appeared
paralyzed. I was one of them."
Bachelet said she was declaring a "state of catastrophe" in three central
regions of the country, and that while emergency responders were waiting for
first light to get details, it was evident that damage was extensive.
Several hospitals have been evacuated due to earthquake damage, she said, and
communications with the city of Concepcion remained down. She planned to tour
the effected region as quickly as possible to get a better idea of the damage.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre called for "urgent action to protect lives
and property" in Hawaii, which is among 53 nations and territories subject to
tsunami warnings.
A huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles
(660 kilometres) off the Chilean coast, Bachelet said. There were no immediate
reports of major damage there, she added.
"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been
destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a
threat to more distant coasts," the warning center said. It did not expect a
tsunami along the west of the U.S. or Canada but was continuing to monitor the
situation.
The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22,
1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless.
The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines
and caused damage to the west coast of the United States.
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