Massive earthquake rocks Chile; tsunami warnings in Pacific

Residents look at a collapsed building in Concepcion, Chile, Saturday Feb. 27, 2010 after an 8.8-magnitude struck central Chile. The epicenter was 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city.(AP Photo)
 

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile early Saturday morning, prompting tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean.

Early reports indicate at least 122 people in Chile were killed by the temblor, which lasted 90 seconds. It caused buildings to tremble as far away as Buenos Aires, Argentina, where some structures were ordered to be evacuated.

The quake’s epicenter was 200 miles southwest of Chile’s capital, Santiago. It was 70 miles from the nation’s second-largest city, Concepcion, home to 200,000 people.

Speaking to her people from an emergency response center, Chilean President Michele Batchelet said there was no cause for panic.

“The system is functioning,” she said. “People should remain calm. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have.”

There were reports of significant damage in Santiago. The passenger terminal at the airport suffered major damage, according to airport director Eduardo del Canto. He said the airport would be closed for at least the next 24 hours.

American tourists safe

A group of 34 American tourists staying at the Crown Plaza Santiago felt the quake shake the skyscraper.

"The lamps flew off the dresser and my TV flew off onto the floor and crashed," said Cynthia Iocono from Linwood, Pa. "It was scary, but there really wasn't any panic. Everybody kind of stayed orderly and looked after one another."

CNN reported that glass shattered at the Santiago Marriott, but the hotel remained structurally sound.

Modern structures in Santiago are built to withstand earthquakes, but there was damage to many older buildings, including the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia church, where the bell tower collapsed.

This image provided by TVN shows a building totally engulfed in flames Concepcion Chile following the earthquake early Saturday Feb. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/TVN)

The earthquake hit at 12:34 a.m. (CST),, about 22 miles underground. At least 11 aftershocks have been recorded, five of magnitude 6.0 or greater.

Tsunami warnings have been issued throughout the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the Philippines. Batchelet said a large wave hit the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles off the coast of Chile.

Hawaii, Tahiti in tsunami path

In Hawaii, residents were awoken by civil defense sirens sounding at 6 a.m. local time, warning of the potential tsunami. Waves as high as six to 10 feet were expected to arrive in the islands shortly after 3 p.m. CST, according to Brian Shiro, a geophysicist at the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

Cars are seen overturned and stuck at a collapsed road in northern Santiago Saturday Feb. 27, 2010. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday. The quake hit 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of the capital and the epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city. (AP Photo/Carlos Espinoza)

“We are taking it very seriously,” Shiro told the New York Times. “But this is not a big one.”

Other popular tourist islands, including Tahiti, are in the path of the tsunami. Waves were expected to begin hitting the island shortly before noon CST, according to a statement from the French Polynesia high commissioner.

"Danger will persist for at least two hours after the first wave hits," the statement said.

Residents were urged to leave coastal areas and seek high ground.

The tsunami alert was sounded in Tahiti at 4 a.m. local time. Traffic has been prohibited on highways near the coast.

Early reports from islands east of Tahiti indicate the tsunami may not be as dangerous as feared. New Zealand also was breathing easier after the Chatham Islands, a territory of New Zealand about 500 miles east of the main islands, reported no significant tsunami waves.

Quake one of greatest on record

The epicenter was in the same area where a record magnitude 9.5 earthquake hit in May 1960. That tremor killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. It caused a tsunami that brought death and destruction to Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, and the American West Coast. 

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Saturday's quake was centered just off the coast of Maule, Chile, a wine-making region in Talca Province. It was also near coastal tourist areas, where Chileans were enjoying the end of the nation's summer holiday season.

In the coastal city of Viña del Mar, the earthquake struck at 3:34 a.m. local time, just as people were leaving a disco, Julio Alvarez told Radio Cooperativa in Santiago.

"It was very bad," he said."People were screaming, some people were running, others appeared paralyzed. I was one of them."

Viña del Mar is Chile's fourth-largest city and its beaches are popular with tourists.

For more info: Map showing quake zone and Chile population centers