Dennis Cortez, mayor of the town of Illapel, 70.8 km southeast of the epicenter, reported on Twitter that a 25-year-old woman was confirmed dead after a wall collapsed inside a restaurant and that at least 12 more were injured in the town.
Buildings shook, windows broke and people poured onto the streets in the country's major cities, including Valparaiso and Santiago, 246 km away from the epicenter. The tremor was even felt as far as the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. The town of Illapel was also jolted by three aftershocks, all above 6.0 magnitude.
Chile is scrambling to deal with the aftermath of the strong earthquake that jolted the South American country at 7:55 p.m. local time (22:55 GMT).
A tsunami alert has been issued by the Chilean Ministry of the Interior (ONEMI) for the country's entire coastline, extending to the entire west coast of South America, Hawaii, and New Zealand.
Early reports by Chilean TV station, 24 Horas, reported that waves hit the towns of Pichidangui, Valparaiso and Coquimbo. Furthermore, waves of up to 2.5 meters high heading toward shore, according to Chile's reporting systems in the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. Geological Service reported the earthquake as being 8.3-magnitude, but the University of Chile's Geology Center raised it later to 8.4-magnitude.
The government activated emergency response measures, with spokesman Marcelo Diaz calling on all Chileans "to stay calm...and to take safety measures."
The ONEMI has assembled its emergency operations committee, and Minister of the Interior Jorge Burgos has gone to the affected areas.
The airport of Santiago has been evacuated and the country's airline LAN rerouted all planes.
More than 3,200 people have been evacuated in the province of Araucania and preventive evacuations are also underway on Easter Island and Juan Fernandez Islands.
In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in central Chile killed more than 500 people and destroyed 220,000 houses.
Xinhua - china.org.cn
17/9/15
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Related:
- Magnitude Mw 8.2
Region OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE
Date time 2015-09-16 22:54:32.0 UTC
Location 31.57 S ; 71.61 W
Depth 20 km
Distances:
228 km NW of Santiago, Chile / pop: 4,837,295 / local time: 19:54:32.0 2015-09-16
163 km N of Valparaíso, Chile / pop: 282,448 / local time: 19:54:32.0 2015-09-16
43 km W of Illapel, Chile / pop: 22,816 / local time: 19:54:32.0 2015-09-16
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- M8.3 - 46km W of Illapel, Chile
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A woman was killed in Illapel when the quake caused a restaurant wall to collapse, Denis Cortes, the city mayor said in an interview with the 24 Horas TV channel, adding that 12-15 others were injured...
ReplyDeleteThe 8.3-magnitude earthquake hit the Coquimbo Region, located about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Chile’s capital Santiago, at around 22:54 GMT on Wednesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Its epicenter was located at a depth of 12.5 kilometers (7.7 miles).
USGS first put the quakes magnitude at 7.9, later revising it to 8.3..........http://sptnkne.ws/KpS
One million people have been evacuated in Chile after a powerful earthquake hit the country's central region....
ReplyDeleteAt least five people died when the 8.3-magnitude quake hit.
Residents of Illapel, near the quake's epicentre, fled into the streets in terror as their homes began to sway.
In the coastal town of Coquimbo, waves of up to 4.5m (15ft) in height hit the shore. A tsunami alert was issued for the entire Chilean coast but has since been lifted.............http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34275783
17/9/15
Violent séisme au Chili: 8 morts au moins, alerte au tsunami levée ....
ReplyDeleteLes autorités chiliennes ont levé jeudi sur l'ensemble du pays l'alerte au tsunami lancée la veille après un violent séisme, dont le bilan a été porté à huit morts.
Ce séisme de magnitude 8,3 a frappé mercredi soir le centre et le nord du pays, provoquant l'évacuation d'un million de personnes. "L'alerte au tsunami est levée sur tout le territoire national", a annoncé l'Office national des situations d'urgence (Onemi) sur son compte Twitter, plus de 10 heures après le début du tremblement de terre qui a fait au moins huit morts selon un nouveau bilan officiel.
Un million de personnes ont été évacuées en raison de l'alerte au tsunami déclenchée après le séisme. Une grande partie des personnes évacuées ont été transférées vers les zones plus élevées des villes côtières.
"Le plus fort tremblement de terre pour 2015 à l'échelle mondiale"
"Nous évaluons le nombre d'évacués à un million de personnes", a indiqué le sous-secrétaire du ministère de l'Intérieur, Mahmoud Aleuy.
Mahmoud Aleuy a précisé que l'état de catastrophe avait été prononcé pour la province de Choapa, où se situe l'épicentre du séisme de magnitude de 8,3 selon l'Institut américain de géologie (USGS). "Il s'agit du sixième tremblement de terre le plus fort de l'histoire du Chili, et du plus fort pour 2015 à l'échelle mondiale", a souligné le responsable du ministère..............rtbf.be
17/9/15