Chile's president calls a "state of catastrophe" after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake (3:00am) - Feb 27, 2010 -
A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 has hit central Chile, killing at least 78 people, ministers say.
The quake struck at 0634 GMT about 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital, Santiago.
President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in affected areas and appealed for calm.
Tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations.
Alerts were also earlier issued for Antarctica and Central America.
Santiago airport has been closed and all flights cancelled until further notice, airline officials say. Flights are being diverted to Mendoza in Argentina.
Aftershocks
The earthquake is the biggest to hit Chile in 50 years.
Giving details of the latest casualties, Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said 34 of the deaths were in Maule, 13 in the Santiago municipality and four in Valparaiso.
"The death toll will continue rising," he said.
President Bachelet said: "People should remain calm. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information [we have] we will share immediately."
She said a "wave of large proportion" had affected the Juan Fernandez island group, reaching halfway into one inhabited area.
She said if there were more aftershocks, people in coastal areas should go to higher ground.
Ms Bachelet warned people not to travel on roads in affected areas as a number of bridges were down.
Chilean officials said the worst affected town appeared to be Parral, close to the epicentre.
Chilean television said there had been a fire involving chemicals in the town of Colina, 20km north of Santiago, but that it was now under control.
Several hospitals have had to be evacuated in a number of areas, including Santiago, because of structural damage.
One resident of Chillan, 100km from the epicentre, told Chilean television the shaking there lasted about two minutes.
Other residents of Chillan and Curico said communications were down but running water was still available.
Many of Chile's news websites and radio stations are still not accessible.
Buildings in Santiago were reported to have shaken for between 10 and 30 seconds, with the loss of electricity and communications.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake struck at a depth of about 35km.
It also recorded eight aftershocks, the largest of 6.9 magnitude at 0801 GMT.
The USGS said tsunami effects had been observed at Valparaiso, west of Santiago, with a wave height of 1.69m above normal sea level.
One journalist speaking to Chilean national television from the city of Temuco, 600km south of Santiago, said many people there had left their homes, determined to spend the rest of the night outside. Some people on the streets were in tears.
A university professor in Santiago, Cristian Bonacic, said that this was a massive quake but that the cities seemed to have resisted well. Internet communications were working but not mobile phones.
Chile is highly vulnerable to earthquakes as it is situated on the Pacific "Rim of Fire", on the edge of the Pacific and South American plates.
Chile suffered the biggest earthquake of the 20th century when a 9.5 magnitude quake struck the city of Valdivia in 1960, killing 1,655 people.
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22/maio/1960- magnitude 9.5 -Chile 1960.by ambientailista1,627 views
God will help you!
muitaloca 2 years ago
sorry for them..really sad :(
2pokeking 2 years ago
5 times stronger than Haiti
facebook2myspace 2 years ago
8.8 is really tough
HappyIndependenceDay 2 years ago